Research presented at an aging meeting in Boston found that overweight and diabetic people taking GLP-1 drugs had a biological age around two to three years younger than comparable people given a placebo, according to findings from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
The result offers an early signal of a possible benefit beyond weight loss and disease treatment. It comes as use of the medicines has expanded quickly: 11% of Americans are taking a GLP-1 drug for weight loss, up from 3% in 2024, according to a recent Gallup poll. A further 15% say they have used one for weight loss at some point.
GLP-1 agonist drugs have approval for diabetes, chronic kidney disease and obesity. They can also be prescribed for some people who are overweight or at risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.
The most frequently reported side effects are gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. The drugs have also been linked to pancreatitis and gallstone disease.
Savanna Vidal, a researcher at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, led colleagues who examined electronic health records from 67 US health-care organizations. They found an association between GLP-1 use and an increased risk of hair loss.
Separate findings presented at a conference in Austria suggested that 66% of GLP-1 users in a smaller study reported at least one nail disorder. Some cases involved nail detachment.
Dozens of people are also suing Novo and Eli Lilly after developing a condition that can lead to sudden vision loss. They claim GLP-1 drugs caused their symptoms. Both companies dispute claims that their GLP-1 drugs cause sudden vision loss.
There is still scant data on serious adverse effects, making it difficult to establish how often the drugs might cause harms such as blindness or pancreatitis. That uncertainty affects both scientific assessment and the lawsuits over alleged injury.
The question is becoming more pressing as prescribing extends to younger patients. Between 2019 and 2026, GLP-1 prescriptions for eight- to 11-year-old children with obesity in the US rose 310-fold.
The World Health Organization has released its first guidelines on managing obesity in children and adolescents. It estimates that 70 million children aged five to nine were living with obesity in 2024, and explicitly does not recommend pharmacological treatment for children under 10.
For patients considering these drugs, the Boston findings describe biological-age markers rather than a settled account of longer-term benefit or harm. The available evidence leaves open how often serious adverse effects occur across the broader population of users.
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