People with obesity or insulin resistance might cut down on alcohol and drugs more if they take GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, according to early research hints.

These diabetes and weight-loss drugs might help prevent or lessen health problems caused by obesity, like heart disease or diabetes.

People with obesity who take certain diabetes drugs like exenatide or dulaglutide might end up drinking less alcohol — one study says exenatide cuts alcohol use by over a kilogram in a month, and dulaglutide by about 1.4 drinks a day.

GLP-1 drugs are changing the game for treating obesity because they help people lose more weight and improve heart and metabolic health better than older treatments.

In nondiabetic adults with overweight or obesity, medications that activate GLP-1 receptors are associated with a 19% lower risk of death from any cause, but this reduction is mainly due to one large study and does not hold up when that study is removed from the analysis.

People with type 2 diabetes or obesity who take GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide might be less likely to develop depression or anxiety.