Patients may be losing muscle and bone mass from weight-loss injections

Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonists were first approved to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D), but they have now become well-known for weight loss effects.

These medications, including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, were found to help patients lose up to 20 percent of their body weight, almost on par with the effectiveness of a bariatric surgery.

However, people are overlooking a dangerous concern: the bodyweight that patients are shedding is not just from fat. Recent studies have shown that some of the weight lost is from muscle and bone mass. This is a serious discovery that patients and physicians must be warned of as this might cause long-term complications like osteoporosis.

Concerns over weight loss injections causing bone and muscle loss

Studies and reports are surfacing that patients might be losing more than just body fat when using GLP-1 medication. GLP-1 receptor agonists work by making patients feel full and making the body produce more insulin. With less hunger, there is less food intake, which also means fewer nutrients are absorbed than the body is used to.

Experts are concerned that when rapid weight loss happens without traditional exercise, people lose the following benefits of exercise crucial to bone and muscle health, especially during a weight loss process: increasing muscle, preventing bones from losing minerals and reducing risks of bone and muscle conditions like osteoporosis.

What studies found on GLP-1, muscle mass, and bone density

Several research studies have used bone mineral density and lean body mass to measure how GLP-1 medications affect the body.

• Bone mineral density (BMD) is the measure of calcium and other minerals in the bone. In a randomized clinical trial on 195 obese patients without T2D, researchers from the University of Copenhagen compared the BMD of patients who received liraglutide for weight loss and the BMD of patients who only exercised to lose weight. Liragrutide is a GLP-1 medication sold as Vitoza or Saxenda. They found decreased hip and spine BMD for patients who only took liraglutide without exercise and recommended a combination of exercise and GLP-1 as the best recourse preventing bone mass loss under GLP-1 treatment.
• Lean body mass (LBM) is what you get if you get a person's weight and subtract the body fat. There are over 40 studies that report on GLP-1RA's effect on body composition along with another class of glucose-lowering medication. They found that, in more than half of these studies, the lean body mass lost by patients was between 20 to 50 percent of the total weight lost.

This issue has been a growing concern for a long enough time that an antibody injection is now being developed to combat "GLP-1 induced bone loss". This experimental drug by Novartis has since been acquired by Eli Lilly, the company that makes Zepbound, Mounjaro, and Trulicity injections.

Losing muscle and bone minerals may lead to the following conditions:

• Osteoporosis: Losing bone minerals leads to brittle and weakened bones, especially in older adults. Further loss of minerals may lead to an osteoporosis diagnosis.
• Loss of balance and coordination: Weakened muscle and reduced muscle strength can critically affect balance and coordination, putting a person at risk of falls and other accidents.

Get a weight loss injection claim evaluation from Atraxia Law

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have already been associated with severe conditions like stomach paralysis, vision loss, and bowel obstruction. Other long-term conditions linked to these drugs are pancreas and gall bladder problems and even higher cancer risk.

If you had been diagnosed with these medical conditions or have developed a severe bone and muscle condition after taking a GLP-1 injection, you may have grounds to file a claim against GLP-1 makers. Schedule a call with Atraxia Law, and we will discuss your eligibility for a claim over a phone call.