Weight-Loss Drugs Help, But Exercise Keeps You Truly Fit
A Danish study followed 193 adults after an eight-week very-low-calorie diet and randomized them to exercise, a GLP-1 drug (liraglutide), both, or neither for a year. While the drug helped maintain weight loss, fitness improvements came from exercise—taking the drug without exercising offered little benefit, and combining both yielded the best weight maintenance. Across measures like stair-climb time and VO2 max, exercise consistently boosted fitness, underscoring that GLP-1 meds aren’t a substitute for physical activity.
