A new study is urging people to incorporate one vital routine into their medicated weight loss journey
15:00, 27 Jan 2026Updated 15:07, 27 Jan 2026
Weight loss induced by medications works best for fitness with exercise(Image: GETTY)
Weight loss medications have completely revolutionised the body transformation process, making it accessible for countless people. However, a new study found users may be lacking in one specific area after their weight loss journey and urged them to incorporate a simple change into their routine.
Published in the Sports Medicine journal, researchers found that while GLP-1 RA drugs may help you lose weight, it doesn’t do much at all for your physical fitness or mobility. As a result, some people may be shedding pounds but still struggling to walk or even climb stairs.
The study found that introducing an exercise routine while on your medicated weight loss journey had a number of health benefits. Including improving physical function, mobility and cardiorespiratory systems.
Exercising alongside the medication offered multiple health benefits(Image: GETTY)
The scientists concluded: “One year of weight maintenance with exercise and GLP-1RA combined significantly improved physical functional performance and cardiorespiratory fitness. The benefits were driven by exercise, and GLP-1RA alone did not improve these physical fitness constructs.
“Absolute muscle strength was preserved after GLP-1RA treatments alone and combined with exercise despite weight reduction.” Participants in the study used a structured exercise program that met the World Health Organisation’s physical activity recommendations, getting around 108 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week for a year.
The participants were split into three groups: a combined treatment group who had weight loss medications and exercised, those who just exercised with a placebo medication and those who had weight loss medications but didn’t exercise. Around 85% of participants followed this 52-week routine through to its end.
The researchers found weight loss treatment didn’t reduce exercise participation, as reported by News Medical. People in the combined group lost more weight than the people who were only exercising.
They also found it easier to do intensive everyday tasks like lifting groceries, walking, bending or kneeling and getting dressed.
At the end of the study, the combined group was “significantly faster” at the stair-climb test than both of the other groups. Their cardiorespiratory fitness increased by around 10%.
Even minor increases in exercises, like going from no activity to a little vigorous exercise, could be meaningful for physical fitness and body composition, the researchers concluded. Each additional 10 minutes of weekly exercise was also linked to a faster stair-climb test and better cardiorespiratory function.
The study found GLP-1 RAs do not significantly improve physical fitness outcomes without exercise(Image: GETTY)
The scientists also discovered that muscle strength remained stable across all groups, indicating that weight loss medications may not cause a decline in absolute strength even without exercise routines. Ultimately, the scientists concluded that weight loss medication on its own had no effect on physical fitness.
They noted: “Despite significant weight loss, pharmacotherapy alone was insufficient to improve physical fitness beyond what was initially achieved through diet-induced weight loss.”