Rapid weight loss may result in greater muscle mass loss than slow weight loss. The popularity of new weight-loss drugs that make you lose weight quickly has raised concerns among researchers about how it might affect the health of our muscles, which do more than give us strength.

Skeletal muscles attached to bones have a dual role. First, they provide structure and function and are essential for physical movement, maintenance of balance and posture, and strength. Second, they have a metabolic function. They are a reservoir of amino acids that are vital for the body’s stress response, trauma healing, and infection management. They also regulate blood sugar and produce and store glutamine, which is key to immune function.

When you lose weight, you’re bound to lose some muscle. However, rapid weight loss causes greater muscle mass loss than slow weight loss. With the widespread use of glucagon-like peptide 1 Researchers using (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs, which are highly effective in weight loss, were concerned that this rapid loss could negatively affect skeletal muscle health.

Researchers from Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC), in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alberta and McMaster University, both in Canada, wrote a commentary article recently published in the renowned medical journal. Lancet.

Research suggests that muscle loss with GLP-1 receptor agonist medications such as semaglutide (Ozempic) and liraglutide (Saxenda) may range from 25% to 39% of total weight lost over 36 to 72 weeks, as reflected by reductions in lean mass. Fat-free mass consists of fat-free mass and skeletal muscle mass. By comparison, restricting calories typically results in free fat mass losses ranging from 10% to 30%.

“This significant muscle loss may be largely attributable to the magnitude of weight loss rather than an independent effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists, but this hypothesis remains to be tested,” the researchers said. “In context, on an annual basis, the reduction in muscle mass with GLP-1 receptor agonists is several times greater than what would be expected from age-related muscle loss.”

Researchers say this rapid loss of muscle mass can cause health problems. Previous studies It has shown that low muscle mass is associated with decreased immunity, increased risk of infection, poor wound healing, physical impairment, poor quality of life, and shorter survival.

“Although data on GLP-1 receptor agonists are sparse, bariatric and metabolic surgery show that muscle loss does not necessarily compromise strength,” the researchers said. “But strength is only one aspect of the importance of muscles. In addition to being a functional organ, muscle also plays important metabolic roles that extend far beyond movement and strength. While the effects of weight loss on muscle mass are widely discussed, these roles are often overlooked.

Until further studies are conducted, researchers are calling for a more holistic approach to weight loss treatment by combining GLP-1 receptor agonists with exercise and dietary interventions to preserve muscle mass.

Professor Dr. “We should be careful about the side effects we see with new weight loss drugs, such as a person eating less while taking the drug and not getting enough vitamins and minerals from the diet,” said Steven Heymsfield. Senior writer on metabolism and body composition and commentary at PBRC. “Also, when a person loses weight, they not only lose fat, they also lose muscle. “We are investigating how muscle loss can be better managed by consuming adequate amounts of protein combined with the optimal amount of exercise.”

His comment was published in the magazine Lancet: Diabetes and Endocrinology.

Source: PBRC