If someone is obese and takes a weight-loss drug called liraglutide for 5 weeks, their brain doesn’t react differently to pictures of food — at least not if we don’t factor in how much weight they...

When people with obesity take a weight-loss drug called liraglutide for 5 weeks, their brain's food-reward area becomes more active when they see food — even after accounting for weight loss, which might mean the brain is fighting back against losing weight.

If you're an obese adult, taking a daily injection of liraglutide for 5 weeks might help you lose about 2.7% more weight than if you took a fake pill, and it could also lower your blood sugar, bad cholesterol, and waist size — plus you might naturally eat less fat and fewer calories.

When people take liraglutide for weight loss, their brain's 'decision-making' area might become more active as a way to push back against further weight loss — which could be why the pounds stop dropping after a while.

In adults with obesity and prediabetes, taking 1.8 mg of liraglutide daily increases feelings of fullness and reduces self-reported desire to eat later, but does not lower the actual amount of calories consumed compared to dieting alone.

Taking the drug liraglutide at 3.0 mg might help people with obesity better control their impulses, like stopping themselves from doing something quickly, even if their reaction speed didn't clearly improve.