Weight loss drugs may boost testosterone in men, study finds

(NewsNation) — GLP-1 weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy could increase testosterone levels and help prevent erectile dysfunction in men, according to a new study.

While more data is needed, researchers from St. Louis University Hospital saw significant increases in testosterone levels for men with obesity or Type 2 diabetes while taking GLP-1 medication.

Men who experience obesity or have Type 2 diabetes often have lower levels of testosterone, which can impact sexual function, muscle mass and bone density.

In the study, the testosterone levels of 110 adult men with obesity or Type 2 diabetes, who were taking GLP-1 medications and not taking testosterone therapies, were analyzed before and throughout 18 months of treatment. The average age in the study was 54.

The study showed that in addition to weight loss, “the proportion of men with normal levels of both total and free testosterone rose from 53% to 77%,” according to the Endocrine Society.

“Our study is among the first to provide compelling evidence that low testosterone can be reversed with the use of commonly prescribed anti-obesity medications,” said Dr. Shellsea Portillo Canales, an endocrinologist at St. Louis University Hospital.

The study’s findings also came with certain limitations. The study was retrospective, meaning researchers analyzed electronic health records rather than conducting a clinical trial. In addition, the testosterone levels of men included in the study were not measured after they stopped taking the GLP-1 medications.

“If weight is regained, testosterone levels could potentially drop again,” Portillo told NBC News.

GLP-1 medications have exploded in popularity due to their efficacy in controlling blood glucose and weight management, according to UChicago Medicine.

The results of the study were presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s yearly meeting in San Francisco.

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Trump announces major tariff in effort to make crucial swing state ‘great again’



President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will be imposing “substantial” tariffs on any country that does not purchase American-made furniture, presumably in addition to his sweeping so-called “reciprocal tariffs” already placed on hundreds of nations.

“In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries, GREAT again, I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Details to follow!!! President DJT”

The North Carolinian furniture industry has indeed suffered significant losses due in large part to China, which has increased its exports of cheap furniture to the United States. Between 1999 and 2009, the furniture manufacturing industry in North Carolina lost more than half of its jobs, one of the many sectors that suffered following the adoption of the NAFTA trade agreements.

Whether Trump’s pledge would boost domestic furniture manufacturing remains to be seen, though the pledge comes just shortly after the president declared war on foreign films in a similar online post in which he announced he would be imposing a 100% tariff on all foreign films.