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Weight-loss medicines

GLP-1 drugs made obesity genetics a dinner-table subject.

Why this topic GLP-1 drugs went from clinic to conversation in two years.

In the news

2026-04-08 · 23andMe Research Institute, published in Nature (GWAS of 27,885 GLP-1 drug users)

Genetic predictors of GLP1 receptor agonist weight loss and side effects

A genome-wide study of 27,885 people taking GLP-1 drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide) found a GLP1R variant linked to an extra 0.76 kg of weight loss per copy of the effect allele (P=2.9x10-10) -- direct genetic evidence the drug's own target gene shapes how well it works, not just a co-mention like most variants on this page. The same study tied a GIPR variant (rs1800437, profiled on this site) to worse nausea and vomiting, specifically in people taking tirzepatide.

What this topic connects to

Weight-loss medicines Variant: rs9939609 rs9939609 Variant Variant: rs987237 rs987237 Variant Variant: rs662799 rs662799 Variant Variant: rs10423928 rs10423928 Variant Variant: rs11030104 rs11030104 Variant Variant: +4 more +4 more Variant Weight-loss medicines Weight-loss medicines

Solid lines are connections this site curates. Dashed lines mean the two ends share a research paper — worth knowing, and not a claim that one explains the other.

Variants that share a paper with this

Counted in Europe PMC, where the title or abstract names both this topic and that rsID. The number is papers, not evidence of a cause.

rs9939609

FTO

Menarche (age at onset)

8 papers →

rs987237

TFAP2B

Adiposity

3 papers →

rs662799

APOA5

Triglyceride levels

2 papers →

rs10423928

GIPR

Obesity

1 paper →

rs11030104

BDNF

Body mass index

1 paper →

rs12970134

MC4R

Waist circumference and related phenotypes

1 paper →

rs1800437

GIPR

Obesity

1 paper →

rs6567160

near MC4R

Childhood obesity

1 paper →

rs9930506

FTO

Obesity-related traits

1 paper →

How this was counted

Europe PMC, title and abstract only, searched for “semaglutide”, “GLP-1 receptor agonist”, “tirzepatide”, “weight loss intervention” alongside each published rsID. Full text was not counted: it returns every paper with an rsID buried in a supplementary table. Recounted monthly.

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Questions about Weight-loss medicines

What are Weight-loss medicines?

Weight-loss medicines is this site's topic page tracking GLP-1 drugs — semaglutide, tirzepatide and similar medicines — which made obesity genetics a dinner-table subject almost overnight.

Do genetics explain why weight-loss medicines like semaglutide work better for some people?

Not from what is shown here. A variant on this page means a paper mentioned a GLP-1 drug and that rsID together — a co-mention, not evidence the variant changes how someone responds to the drug.

Why is weight-loss medicines a topic on this site now?

GLP-1 drugs went from a clinical treatment to a dinner-table subject in about two years — faster than most subjects earn a place on this list — and this page tracks the genetics conversation that followed.

How does this site decide which variants are linked to weight-loss medicines?

Europe PMC is searched for semaglutide, GLP-1 receptor agonist, tirzepatide or weight loss intervention appearing in a paper's title or abstract alongside a published rsID, recounted every month.