New Study Reveals a Hidden Benefit of Weight Loss Drugs for Men
These days, many folks turn to drugs like Ozempic to help lose weight. But for men, there may be another compelling reason to consider them: a testosterone boost.
According to a new study being presented this week at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, researchers at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital found that weight loss medications can help reverse low testosterone levels in men with Type 2 diabetes or obesity.
The researchers examined health records of 110 men with Type 2 diabetes or obesity to track hormone changes while using GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They tracked testosterone levels before starting the medications and followed up for 18 months during treatment. About half of the participants had low or borderline low testosterone initially, with most achieving normal levels by the end of the study.
The average age of the group was 54."The increases we observed were more modest than what you would typically see with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). However, they occurred naturally, without testosterone replacement therapy, and likely reflect the body recovering its normal hormone production as weight and insulin resistance improved," Shellsea Portillo Canales, M.D., lead author of the study, told NBC News.
Just as weight loss drugs have surged in popularity, so too has testosterone therapy. Between 2019 and 2024, prescriptions for testosterone reportedly jumped from 7.3 million to over 11 million.
"Doctors and their patients can now consider this class of medications not only for the treatment of obesity and to control blood sugar, but also to benefit men's reproductive health," Portillo shared in a statement.New Study Reveals a Hidden Benefit of Weight Loss Drugs for Men first appeared on Men's Fitness on Jul 15, 2025
This story was originally reported by Men's Fitness on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
In the age of Ozempic, is there still a role for weight-loss surgery?
As weight-loss medications like Ozempic exploded across the U.S. over the past four years, bariatric surgeons faced a bit of an existential crisis: Were their jobs about to become obsolete? For the first time, health care providers have a combination of highly effective therapies to offer patients with obesity, a condition that has long been one of the most difficult to treat. The outlook is especially exciting for patients who are severely overweight — including those who are considered too heavy for surgery. Indeed, there may exist a future where drugs and other interventions prevent people from ever becoming obese and needing weight-loss surgery. But that future is far off, say surgeons and other weight-loss experts. In fact, even as millions of Americans are now taking drugs that dramatically improve weight loss, surgeons say their tool may be more powerful than ever. 'A massive amount of people have tried these medications, so the question becomes: 'How well do they work and is there a role for bariatric surgery in the era of these drugs?'' said Dr. Jonathan Carter, a UCSF surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive procedures. Bariatric surgery has for decades been the most effective and durable weight-loss tool available. The specific procedures vary, but the most common operation now is the gastric sleeve surgery, in which a large portion of the stomach is removed. Roughly a quarter of a million Americans undergo a bariatric procedure each year. The surgeries are highly effective for weight loss — patients can lose about a third of their body weight within two years, and they generally keep off most of those pounds long-term. The side effects with the sleeve procedure are minimal and may include gas, bloating and nutritional deficiencies that can be alleviated with diet. Meanwhile, more than 1 in 10 Americans have now taken the newest weight-loss medications. On these drugs, patients can lose about 15% of their weight, but they must remain on the drugs for life — those who stop gain all of the weight back. Side effects are similar to the surgery. The drugs and the surgery work somewhat similarly by essentially quashing people's hunger and cravings. And though the surgery is more expensive at the outset — about $12,000 to $15,000 — it's cheaper in the long-term compared to drugs that cost about $1,000 a month. Both treatments are often, but not always, covered by insurance. With the surgery, 'You take someone who is 100 pounds overweight and their knees hurt and they have sleep apnea,' said Carter, 'and you do a one-hour intervention and a year later they've lost 100 pounds and their knees don't hurt and the sleep apnea is gone. It's like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon.' But bariatric surgery has never been a popular weight-loss option for those who need it most. Of all Americans who are eligible for surgery, only about 1% undergo the procedure. Surgeons and weight-loss experts say that's largely been due to misconceptions about the procedure and stigma around obesity. 'If you've been treating patients with obesity for decades, you always felt like, 'Yes, I have a great treatment, I can do these surgeries and do them safely, I believe in them whole-heartedly,'' said Dr. Dan Azagury, a Stanford University bariatric surgeon. 'But you were still limited in your capacity to treat patients.' Azagury took over Stanford's Lifestyle and Weight Management Center in February 2020, about a year before Ozempic, the first blockbuster weight-loss drug, blew up. Over the next 18 months, the number of patients on weight-loss medications jumped from 50 to 2,000. He said friends would often ask him if he would be out of a job soon. The drugs, though, have in some ways validated the surgical interventions, Azagury said. Weight loss has notoriously been a fraught topic in doctors offices, with patients feeling judged and doctors feeling frustrated by their lack of treatment options. 'A lot of times doctors would just say that you should eat less,' Azagury said. 'And I think patients intrinsically didn't see obesity as a medical condition,' he said. The success of recent weight-loss drugs, though, has made that conversation more palatable both to patients and providers, Azagury said. And he believes that is making some patients more amenable to a surgical option. There are, broadly, now three buckets for treating weight loss: diet and exercise, medication and surgery. The first option is likely best for people who don't have a lot of weight to lose and who are not facing any immediate complications related to their weight. They can manage their own treatment, or get a referral to a community or private weight-loss program. From there, patients with more serious obesity can decide if medication or surgery — or both — is the best option for them. Some people may be resistant to the idea of any surgical procedure and opt for medication. Others may decide that they would rather not deal with weekly injections for the rest of their life and prefer a one-time operation. Many patients, though, will end up with multiple interventions over their lifetime. They may start with medication and eventually decide they want a more permanent solution. Or they may get bariatric surgery and a few years later decide to start a medication if their weight is creeping back up. Mandy Hinz, 47, fought with her weight all her life, and it's only in the past two years that she finally felt like she had options. She had inquired about bariatric surgery about 20 years ago but was told she would need to lose 100 pounds before doctors would consider it safe. After that, she was up and down, peaking at about 415 pounds on her 5-foot, 3-inch frame. She started Ozempic in early 2023, and though the drug made her feel 'super sick,' she stuck with it and lost about 30 pounds. Around that time, Hinz, a Sacramento resident, was referred to the bariatric program at UCSF, and in October 2023, she finally got a gastric sleeve. She got down to about 200 pounds from the surgery, then started a different weight-loss drug and lost another 20 pounds. Though she's still obese for her height, Hinz said she's not interested in losing much more weight. 'I'm 180 and completely happy,' Hinz said. 'My journey has been absolutely amazing.' She noted that even with all of the tools at her disposal, losing the weight was never easy. And she has friends for whom even the newest therapies aren't solving all of their weight issues. But for Hinz, the weight-loss drugs finally unlocked a path that had never felt accessible to her. 'Being big my whole life, I missed out on a lot of stuff,' she said. Walking up and down stairs had become difficult, or spending a day on her feet at an amusement park. 'Now I can run up and down the stairs, I can walk around the amusement park the whole day. I went on my first hike a year and a half ago. It's like, let's go, let's do this.' Azagury said he's most thrilled for the patients — and their doctors — who have the most weight to lose, and especially those for whom a combination of medical and surgical therapies could be life-saving. 'The worst thing for a bariatric surgeon is when you get a patient in your clinic and it's too late — their condition is so bad that surgery is unsafe,' Azagury said. 'The conversation is, 'You have a condition I can treat, but I can't treat you.' It's the worst conversation. And I never have to have it anymore. Now I can tell them: 'I can't do surgery, but I have a good alternative for you.''
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Epoch Times
Taiwanese Doctor Expresses Concern Over China's Organ Industry
A Taiwanese doctor who is part of a medical ethics nonprofit has expressed concerns about China's organ industry, especially regarding children. Huang Shiwei, vice chairman of the medical ethics nonprofit Taiwan International Organ Transplant Care Association, told NTD's Health 1+1 program that he was troubled by an alleged order that a hospital gave medical student Luo Shuaiyu. The medical student, Luo Shuaiyu, specialized in kidney transplantation at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Authorities said Luo fell to his death from a building in May 2024, just weeks before his graduation. According to audio recordings released by his parents after his death, Luo had been asked to locate 12 child donors aged 3 to 9, ostensibly for medical purposes. Huang said this is concerning given China's record of forced organ harvesting. 'They asked [Luo] to find child donors. Where was he supposed to look?' Huang said. Pediatric Organs On May 21, 2024, Fudan University Medical College in Shanghai established a pediatric organ transplant center. According to the university, Li Qian, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary at the pediatric hospital, said that 'in just over a year, [pediatric organ transplants] have exceeded 100 cases.' State media outlet Sina reported that the hospital has performed highly complex surgeries, including kidney transplants from donors weighing less than 5 kg (11 pounds), indicating that newborns are among the donors. In 2017, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou reported that 90 percent of pediatric kidney donors were allocated to adult patients. A 2023 study by doctors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Renji Hospital, published in the American Journal of Transplantation, detailed two cases of kidney transplants from newborns born at 29 weeks and 29 weeks, 5 days to adult women aged 34 and 25 with end-stage kidney disease. The kidneys were harvested on the second and third days after birth, prompting ethical scrutiny. Shabih Manzar, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Louisiana State University, questioned the procedure in the same journal, noting that one of the 29-week preterm infants had no apparent life-threatening conditions, casting doubt on the decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. Huang noted the high survival rates of 29-week preterm infants with modern medical technology. 'Whether it's the parents or the medical system, everyone would typically do everything possible to save these preterm newborns,' he said. 'No one would give up and simply designate them as organ donors. Yet, we see that they are using 29-week preterm infants as organ donors.' China's Organ Harvesting Industry China began using organs from executed prisoners following a 1984 regulation allowing the practice. After 1999, when the regime began persecuting the spiritual group Falun Gong, China's organ transplant industry exponentially increased. Huang noted that when former CCP leader Jiang Zemin initiated the persecution campaign against Falun Gong, practitioners were branded as 'class enemies,' making them prime targets for forced organ harvesting. This period marked an unprecedented surge in organ transplants. According to data from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, compiled from Chinese state media reports, only 135 liver transplants were recorded in China over more than two decades before 1999, averaging five to six cases annually. From 1999 to 2006, liver transplants skyrocketed to 14,085 cases over the eight-year period, averaging more than 1,700 cases per year—a 180-fold increase. 'Organ transplantation in China suddenly became a massive industry,' Huang said. 'With countless patients in China and worldwide needing organs, there are enormous commercial interests at play.' In March 2006, a whistleblower using the pseudonym Annie, a former employee of Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, revealed to The Epoch Times the CCP's horrific practice of forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. This exposure had a significant impact on China's organ transplant industry. According to the China Liver Transplant Registry, cited by state media People's Daily, liver transplants peaked at 2,970 cases in 2005 and 2,781 in 2006 but fell by roughly one-third to 1,822 cases in 2007. Huang attributed this decline to the 2006 revelations. 'The reason for the decrease in organ transplants in China in 2007 was the exposure of the CCP's forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners,' Huang said. 'As relatives relentlessly searched for family members detained for practicing Falun Gong, it became increasingly difficult for the CCP's public security and medical personnel to continue using Falun Gong practitioners' organs on such a large scale.' He said the drop in transplant numbers underscores the international scrutiny and domestic pressure that began to disrupt the CCP's organ harvesting operations. Concerns 'Forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention, often without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest warrants, at different locations,' according to a 2021 joint statement from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Huang said: 'In most countries, organ donors tend to be older, 50, 60, or even 70 years old. But in China, the organ transplant industry operates differently. When organs are supplied to wealthy individuals, they naturally demand those from younger people.' Huang said he believes in China there is now an increasing focus on obtaining organs from young individuals, including children. A surge in mysterious disappearances of adolescents across multiple Chinese provinces in recent years has fueled public suspicion of organ trafficking, especially because of China's extensive surveillance infrastructure. In October 2022, Hu Xinyu, a first-year high school student in eastern China's Jiangxi Province, mysteriously disappeared from school. Various reports from insiders and overseas whistleblowers allege that the Hu case is linked to forced organ harvesting. In August 2023, 8-year-old Wang Sijun, who had a rare Rh-negative blood type, died unexpectedly while receiving treatment at Yunnan Red Cross Hospital. According to viral videos posted by her family on platforms such as Douyin, Wang was admitted for a routine examination while accompanying a relative, only to die in the nephrology ward. Her autopsy cited hemorrhagic shock as the cause of death, with traces of the anticoagulant enoxaparin sodium detected, leading her family to suspect blood extraction and organ theft. Although no definitive evidence confirms organ harvesting in the case, Huang noted that widespread allegations of hospitals engaging in such practices have created a climate of heightened anxiety. Documented cases, such as a fraudulent organ donation scandal in Anhui Province's Bengbu City, lend credence to these concerns. Between 2017 and 2018, six defendants, including four doctors, were convicted of deceiving families and illegally harvesting organs from at least 11 patients. 'China's organ transplant industry, driven by the Communist Party's ideology, has evolved into a vast commercial enterprise,' Huang said. 'These cases show it has become an unregulated beast, with rampant, unchecked organ harvesting.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Americans' becoming more aware of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy: Survey
The number of U.S. adults that are aware of GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, has jumped significantly in the last few years, a new survey shows. The YouGov poll, released Friday, shows that at least 80 percent of respondents have heard at least 'a little bit' about semaglutide, a medication used to treat Type 2 diabetes that also helps a user to shed weight. In March 2023, only 60 percent of Americans were aware of the drug. A year later, in March 2024, that number had jumped to 70 percent, the pollster noted. The latest survey also shows that the share of those who have heard 'a lot' about the medication has nearly doubled since 2023, increasing to 41 percent from 23 percent. Just 36 percent of respondents say they know someone who has taken semaglutide. Around 14 percent listed a family member took the medicine, 16 percent named a friend, 11 percent identified an acquaintance and 7 percent said they had taken it themselves, according to the poll. Several also noted they knew a user in more than one category. Women are more likely than men, 43 percent to 29 percent, to know someone — including themselves — who has taken a GLP-1 agonist drug, per the survey. The weight loss medications — including Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound and others — have been available since 2005 but have only in the past few years been used to treat obesity. The drugs work by mimicking a hormone in the body — glucagon-like peptide-1 — that stimulates insulin secretion and reduces appetite. Possible side effects of taking the medication include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation. While semaglutide is currently only prescribed for weight loss or treating diabetes, early research is pointing to possible benefits for a host of other issues, including treatment for addiction, neurodegenerative diseases and conditions that affect the heart, kidney or liver. The latest survey found that roughly a quarter of respondents said they would be 'very' or 'somewhat' interested in taking the medication as a weight loss treatment. About a third of Americans have either taken the drug or said they would be interested in trying it. On the other side, about 17 percent said they were 'not very' interested in the medication and 45 percent signaled they were not at all interested. A separate poll from last September found that around a quarter of adults in the U.S. would consider using weight loss medications without consulting their doctor. The YouGov analysis is based on an online survey conducted from May 22-25 among 1,109 adults in the U.S. The margin of error for the full sample is 4 percentage points. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
