![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #16198](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/glp1-injections-1024x576.jpg "Weight-loss experts predict 5 major treatment changes likely to emerge in 2026")
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Big moves are continuing in theweight losslandscape in the new year following breakthrough research of GLP-1 medications and other methods.
No.1: Shift to whole-body treatment
Dr.Peter Balazs, a hormone and weight loss specialist in New York and New Jersey, shared that the most important shift is likely to label GLP-1 drugs as “multi-system metabolic modulators” rather than “simple weight loss drugs.”
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“The treatment goal is no longer justBMI reduction, but total cardiometabolic risk mitigation, with effects now documented across the liver, heart, kidneys and vasculature,” he said.
“We are seeing a significant reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events … and progression of renal disease,” he went on.
The focus of GLP-1 drugs will widen beyond weight loss and diabetes, according to experts’ predictions.(iStock)
Philip Rabito, M.D., a specialist in endocrinology,weight loss and wellnessin New York City, also shared that “exciting” advancements lie ahead for weight-loss drugs, including GLP-1s and GIPs.
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“These next‑generation agents, along with novel combinations that include glucagon and amylin agonists, are demonstrating even more impressive weight‑loss outcomes than currently available therapies, with the potential for better tolerability and sustained results,�
“There is also tremendous optimism around new federal agreements with manufacturers that aim to make these medications more widely accessible and affordable for the broad population of patients who need them most.”
No.2: More convenient dosing
The typical prescription for a GLP-1 medication is a weekly injection, but delivery and dosing may be changing to more convenient methods in 2026, according to Balazs.
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A daily 25 mg pill version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, a semaglutide designed totreat obesity, is now approved and available for chronic weight management, offering a non-injectable option for some patients.
A once-weekly oral GLP-1 is currently in phase 2 trials, as well as an implant that aims for three to six months of drug delivery, Balazs noted.
Incisionless weight-loss procedures will rise as a lower-risk option, according to experts.(iStock)
No.3: Less invasive surgery
In addition to decreased risk during surgery for GLP-1 users, Balazs also predicted thatmetabolic surgerywithout incision will rise as a better option.
“Incisionless endoscopic procedures — like endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (non-surgical weight-loss procedure that makes the stomach smaller from the inside) and duodenal mucosal resurfacing (non-surgical procedure that resets part of the small intestine to help the body better handle blood sugar) — [may become] more durable and widely available,” he said.
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“These offer significantmetabolic benefitswith shorter recovery and lower risk than traditional surgery.”
Rabito agreed that “rapid progress” in minimally invasive weight‑loss procedures is “opening powerful new options for patients who are hesitant to pursue traditional bariatric surgery.”
Bariatric surgery remains the most effective weight loss method, one specialist says.(iStock)
This avenue offers “meaningful and durable weight reduction with less risk, shorter recovery times and no external incisions,” the expert added.
Dr.Muhammad Ghanem, bariatric surgeon at the Orlando Health Weight Loss &Bariatric Surgery Institute, reiterated that surgery remains “the most successful modality for thetreatment of obesity… with the highest weight loss and most durable outcomes as of yet.”
No.4: Younger GLP-1 users
As Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has been indicated for adolescents over 12 years old as an obesity treatment, Balazs commented that pediatric use of weight-loss drugs is “now a clinical reality.”
He predicted that other alternatives are likely to be approved in 2026 for younger users.
No.5: High-tech, personalized access
Amid the growth ofartificial intelligence, Balazs predicted an expansion in the clinical implementation of AI-driven weight-loss methods.
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This could include categorizing obesity into sub-types like “hungry brain,” “emotional hunger” and “slow burn” to personalize how therapy is prescribed while moving away from “trial and error,” he said.
Ghanem agreed that there will likely be a “big focus” on individualized testing for causes of obesity in 2026, as it’s a disease that can have “different causes in different people,” thus requiringdifferent treatments.
AI and other digital opportunities will drive more access for weight-loss patients, experts say.(iStock)
The doctor anticipates that more patients will seek combinations of comprehensive treatments and programs.
“Patients are more aware that now we have a few weapons in our arsenal to combat obesity, and [they] are seeking a multidisciplinary and holistic approach,” Ghanem said.
personalized nutritionand metabolic coaching through algorithms, often integrated with continuous glucose monitors, and reimbursed as medical treatments,” he said.
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