A new study from the Cleveland Clinic, published in Nature Medicine, has found that weight-loss surgery drastically outperforms GLP-1 medications in terms of improving longevity and reducing serious health risks such as kidney, eye, and heart complications for those with diabetes and obesity.
Weight-Loss Surgery vs GLP-1 Drugs
Additionally, their findings show that over a 10-year period, patients even lost far more weight with weight-loss surgery (also called bariatric or metabolic surgery), maintained better blood sugar control, and required fewer medications for diabetes and heart medications than those taking GLP-1 medications. The researchers said that weight-loss surgery continues to offer survival advantages and unmatched long-term metabolic benefits even in the presence of convenient obesity drugs.
The Cleveland Clinic study found that those with type 3 diabetes and obesity who underwent weight-loss surgery lived longer and had fewer serious health issues than those taking GLP-1 receptor agonist medications alone. GLP-1 drugs mimic a natural hormone that helps to regulate appetite and blood sugar, which may be why they are commonly being prescribed for diabetes and weight management. These drugs come under an assortment of brands and names, including: semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda), dulaglutide (Trulicity), exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound).
“Even with today’s best medicines, metabolic surgery offers unique and lasting benefits for people with obesity and diabetes,” said Ali Aminian, M.D., director of Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute and primary investigator of the study. “The benefits we observed went beyond weight loss. Surgery was linked to fewer heart problems, less kidney disease, and even lower rates of diabetes-related eye damage.”
Both GLP-1 drugs and weight-loss surgery are known to help improve cardiovascular and metabolic health. This study was conducted to assess which method had better long-term benefits. The M6 study (Macrovascular and Microvascular Morbidity and Mortality after Metabolic Surgery versus Medicines) tracked 3,932 adults with diabetes and obesity receiving care at the Cleveland Clinic for up to a decade. Of the participants, 1,657 had weight-loss surgery such as gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, and 2,275 took GLP-1 drugs like liraglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide.
Unmatched Long-Term Benefits
After 10 years, those who underwent weight-loss surgery showed dramatically better outcomes, which included a 32% lower risk of death, 35% lower risk of major heart problems like stroke, heart failure, or heart attack, 47% lower risk of serious kidney disease, and a 54% lower risk of retinopathy (diabetes related eye damage).
When it comes to weight loss, after 10 years, those who had weight-loss surgery lost 21.6% of their body weight, compared to only 6.8% among those taking GLP-1 drugs. Those who had weight-loss surgery experienced a 0.86% improvement in blood sugar control, measured by hemoglobin A1c, compared to the GLP-1 group, which had improvements of only 0.23%. Those in the surgery group also required fewer prescriptions for blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes management.
“Even in the era of these powerful new drugs to treat obesity and diabetes, metabolic surgery may provide additional benefits, including a survival advantage,” said Steven Nissen, M.D., Chief Academic Officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study.
“Our findings indicate that surgery should remain an important treatment option for obesity and diabetes,” said Dr. Aminian. “These long-term benefits are harder to achieve with GLP-1 medicines alone, as many patients stop using the medications over time.”
This article was written at the WHN News Desk.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
