A recent study suggests GLP-1-related weight loss may improve some women’s relationships and employment status.
Rebecca Diamond, professor of economics at Harvard University in Boston, independently published research that found an association between weight-loss medications and a change in women’s social and economic outcomes.
Diamond used the Understanding America Study, a panel survey from the University of Southern California, to compare women who started GLP-1s for weight loss to those who wanted to start but had not yet done so.
The comparison considered body mass, health, income, employment, partnership status and well-being before treatment.
The study focused on women because they are more likely to use GLP-1s than men. It excluded people taking GLP-1 drugs for diabetes, as their use is driven by a medical condition rather than weight loss demand.
Women who successfully lost weight with GLP-1 medications experienced changes across several life outcomes, including employment, marriage and cohabitation, according to the study.
Marriage and cohabitation rose 29% for single women after about 18 months.
Among women who were not employed at the start of the study, job prospects increased by 27% after the same amount of time. Those who were already employed did not display any clear upward progress in their careers, however.
Diamond argues that these findings suggest part of the “female obesity penalty” comes from how people are judged when being matched up, either in a new relationship or a new job.
Dr. Peter Balazs, a hormone and weight loss specialist from New York and New Jersey, commented on these findings.
“The effects showed up during ‘new match’ situations, such as job interviews or dating and not within existing jobs or relationships,” Balazs, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “This says more about societal bias than it does about the medication itself.”
Balazs said his patients often report feeling more confident and “visible” after weight loss, which could translate into better interview performance and networking.
“Weight loss (commonly) improves confidence, which opens new business and relationship opportunities,” he added. “Weight loss has hormonal impacts as well, so the normalization of hormones and the profound metabolic and psychological relief that comes with it can be a factor, too.”
Dr. Krishna Vyas, a plastic surgeon at Blechman Plastic Surgery in New York, told Fox News Digital in a separate interview that many patients seek breast lifts or body contouring after significant GLP-1 weight loss, after which they find themselves “re-engaging with life.”
“That confidence effect is real in the exam room,” said the surgeon, who also was not involved in the research. “This study, however, showed no clear improvement in depression, loneliness or life satisfaction, even as marriage and employment rates climbed dramatically.
“The opportunities opened, yet the women didn’t report feeling better, which suggests it was largely the gatekeepers who changed, not the women.”
Potential limitations
Because this was an observational study rather than a randomized clinical trial, it could only show an association — not cause and effect. The findings are also considered preliminary because the paper has not yet been peer-reviewed, the author acknowledged.
“Additionally, since the study only looked at women, that introduces another layer of potential bias,” Balazs noted. “I’d be interested to see whether the findings would be the same if the study included men or compared them directly.”
Another limitation is that the information from the individuals studied was self-reported, the expert noted.
The researchers were also unable to determine whether people who found new jobs were earning more money.
“Additionally, even though GLP-1 users appeared to have better outcomes on paper, they did not report greater overall life satisfaction,” Balazs added. “That raises important questions about whether these external changes translate into meaningful improvements in well-being.”
