Understanding Semaglutide’s weight- loss efficacy: A review of GLP- 1 biology

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing metabolic disorder associated with significant cardiometabolic morbidity, reduced quality of life, and increased mortality [18, 25, 28]. Although lifestyle modification remains the cornerstone of obesity management, long-term success is often limited, necessitating effective pharmacological interventions [19, 32, 33]. Semaglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, has emerged as a highly effective agent for weight management [1, 4, 5]. This literature review explores the biological role of GLP-1 in appetite and energy regulation [9-12], the pathophysiological basis for targeting GLP-1 pathways in obesity [14-17], and the clinical evidence supporting semaglutide use, including findings from the STEP clinical trial program and real-world studies [1-8]. Safety, tolerability, pharmacological and non-pharmacological considerations are also discussed [21-23]. Collectively, available evidence supports semaglutide as a major advancement in obesity pharmacotherapy when integrated with lifestyle intervention [1, 4, 8].