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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Sep 15, 2025; 16(9): 109123
Published online Sep 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i9.109123
Published online Sep 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i9.109123
Saving muscle while losing weight: A vital strategy for sustainable results while on glucagon-like peptide-1 related drugs
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Lana Ruzic, Department of Sport and Exercise Medicine, University of Zagreb Faculty of Kinesiology, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Vjekoslav Cigrovski, Department of Sport, University of Zagreb Faculty of Kinesiology, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Felice Strollo, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome 00163, Italy
Author contributions: Cigrovski Berkovic M contributed to manuscript conceptualization, drafting, and writing; Cigrovski Berkovic M, Ruzic L, Cigrovski V, and Strollo F contributed to data collection, analysis, and writing of the final version; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Sport and Exercise Medicine, University of Zagreb Faculty of Kinesiology, Horvacanski Zavoj 15, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. maja.cigrovskiberkovic@gmail.com
Received: April 30, 2025
Revised: May 23, 2025
Accepted: August 20, 2025
Published online: September 15, 2025
Processing time: 135 Days and 1.2 Hours
Revised: May 23, 2025
Accepted: August 20, 2025
Published online: September 15, 2025
Processing time: 135 Days and 1.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Weight loss medications can lead to a reduction in both fat and muscle mass. Losing muscle can make it more difficult to maintain weight in the long term, and can increase the risk of sarcopenia, as well as the likelihood of regaining weight due to unfavorable changes in body composition. Therefore, it is essential for new medications to focus on preserving muscle mass or even promoting the growth of lean mass as part of weight maintenance programs. Additionally, research is being conducted on the release of myokines during muscle contraction and their roles in autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine functions related to muscle preservation.