Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 21;24(13):10449.
doi: 10.3390/ijms241310449.

Emerging Role of GLP-1 Agonists in Obesity: A Comprehensive Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

Mihaela-Simona Popoviciu  1 , Lorena Păduraru  1 , Galal Yahya  2   3 , Kamel Metwally  4   5 , Simona Cavalu  1
Affiliations
Review

Emerging Role of GLP-1 Agonists in Obesity: A Comprehensive Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

Mihaela-Simona Popoviciu et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic disease with high prevalence and associated comorbidities, making it a growing global concern. These comorbidities include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, ventilatory dysfunction, arthrosis, venous and lymphatic circulation diseases, depression, and others, which have a negative impact on health and increase morbidity and mortality. GLP-1 agonists, used to treat type 2 diabetes, have been shown to be effective in promoting weight loss in preclinical and clinical studies. This review summarizes numerous studies conducted on the main drugs in the GLP-1 agonists class, outlining the maximum achievable weight loss. Our aim is to emphasize the active role and main outcomes of GLP-1 agonists in promoting weight loss, as well as in improving hyperglycemia, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, cardio-metabolic, and renal protection. We highlight the pleiotropic effects of these medications, along with their indications, contraindications, and precautions for both diabetic and non-diabetic patients, based on long-term follow-up studies.

Keywords: GLP-1 agonists; Lixisenatide; exenatide; liraglutide; obesity; semaglutide; tirzepatide; type 2 diabetes; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The worldwide prevalence of obesity in 2025: (a) females and (b) males. Obesity refers to BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. Age-standardized estimates for adults aged 20 years and older. Data obtained from NCD-RisC study. Available online: https://www.ncdrisc.org (accessed on 15 February 2023).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Complications of obesity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The structure of GLP-1-parent.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Development of exenatide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Development of Lixisenatide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Development of liraglutide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Development of semaglutide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Development of tirzepatide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Development of albiglutide and the corresponding chemical structure.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Distribution of GLP-1 receptors. GLP-1Rs (pdb6X18) mainly exist in the neurons of the brain and the beta cells of the pancreas.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ritchie H., Roser M. “Obesity”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. 2017. [(accessed on 10 January 2023)]. Available online: https://ourworldindata.org/obesity.
    1. Lebovitz H.E., Banerji M.A. Point: Visceral Adiposity Is Causally Related to Insulin Resistance. Diabetes Care. 2005;28:2322–2325. doi: 10.2337/diacare.28.9.2322. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Apovian C.M. Obesity: Definition, comorbidities, causes, and burden. Am. J. Manag. Care. 2016;22((Suppl. S7)):s176–s185. - PubMed
    1. WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022. WHO Regional Office for Europe; Copenhagen, Denmark: 2022.
    1. Roman G., Bala C., Creteanu G., Graur M., Morosanu M., Amorin P., Pîrcalaboiu L., Radulian G., Timar R., Cadariu A.A. Obesity and Health-Related lifestyle factors in the general population in romania: A cross sectional study. Acta Endocrinol. 2015;11:64–71. doi: 10.4183/aeb.2015.64. - DOI

MeSH terms