This drug didn’t just make muscles less fatty—it also made them bigger in size, adding about half a square inch of lean muscle in the core area after six months.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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The Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue, Tesamorelin, Decreases Muscle Fat and Increases Muscle Area in Adults with HIV

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2019

The study found that a drug called tesamorelin helped HIV-positive people with belly fat gain more muscle in their trunk after 26 weeks, even though they weren’t just losing fat — the muscle actually got bigger.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

The Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue, Tesamorelin, Decreases Muscle Fat and Increases Muscle Area in Adults with HIV

Score: 60

DOI: 10.14283/jfa.2018.45

Similar Assertions

The drug made the lean parts of the abdominal and rectus muscles denser—meaning they had less fat inside them—more than other muscles, showing it targeted key core muscles.

97%

HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin had more lean muscle mass in all four trunk muscles, with increases between 0.64 and 1.08 cm² compared to placebo after 26 weeks.

96%

For people with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin by losing belly fat, taking the drug for 26 weeks made their trunk muscles denser by 1.56 to 4.86 units compared to those who didn't take it.

94%

People with HIV and belly fat who responded to tesamorelin had 0.64 to 1.08 square centimeters more lean muscle in their trunk muscles compared to those who didn't take the drug.

94%

For HIV patients with belly fat who responded to this drug, taking tesamorelin for 6 months made their trunk muscles less fatty and more dense, like turning soft muscle into firmer muscle.

94%