19/09/2026
There’s something really interesting happening in GLP-1 research right now.
The conversation has moved beyond weight loss.
As these medicines are being studied for longer and in much larger groups of people, researchers are finding potential benefits across several areas of health.
We’re seeing evidence around:
• ❤️ Heart health – large clinical trials have shown reductions in major cardiovascular events in certain higher-risk groups.
• 🫘 Kidney health – newer research suggests semaglutide can reduce the risk of important kidney outcomes, including progression towards kidney failure, in people with cardio-kidney-metabolic disease.
• 🫀 Metabolic health – improvements in blood glucose, insulin resistance, blood pressure and other cardiometabolic risk factors are increasingly being reported.
• 🧬 Liver health – GLP-1-based treatments are being studied in metabolic liver disease, with trials showing improvements in liver inflammation and, in some groups, fibrosis.
• 😴 Sleep apnoea – obesity medicines are now being investigated for their effects on obstructive sleep apnoea, another condition strongly linked with metabolic health.
And this is where I think the conversation becomes much more interesting.
GLP-1 medicines aren’t simply about a number on the scales. They are changing the way researchers think about treating obesity and the wider health conditions that can accompany it.
For me, the really important question is:
How do we use this opportunity to build a healthier, stronger body while appetite is changing?
That means enough protein.
Plenty of fibre.
Nutrient-dense food.
Strength training.
Healthy fats.
And finding ways to make food enjoyable when you may not feel as hungry as you once did.
The research is evolving quickly, and there is still plenty we don’t know. But the picture emerging is certainly bigger than weight loss.
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