Tesamorelin Makes Fat Healthier, Not Just Less
Tesamorelin improves fat quality independent of changes in fat quantity
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study found that a drug called tesamorelin not only reduces belly fat in people with HIV, but also makes the fat healthier. Healthier fat is denser, smaller, and less inflamed. The drug made fat denser in both belly and under-the-skin areas, and this was linked to better blood markers like higher good fat hormones and lower cholesterol.
Surprising Findings
Fat quality can be improved independently of fat quantity.
Most people assume that losing fat automatically makes it healthier — but this study shows you can make fat denser and healthier even without losing much weight.
Practical Takeaways
If you have central adiposity (belly fat), ask your doctor about fat quality — not just quantity — and whether improving it could help your heart and metabolism.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study found that a drug called tesamorelin not only reduces belly fat in people with HIV, but also makes the fat healthier. Healthier fat is denser, smaller, and less inflamed. The drug made fat denser in both belly and under-the-skin areas, and this was linked to better blood markers like higher good fat hormones and lower cholesterol.
Surprising Findings
Fat quality can be improved independently of fat quantity.
Most people assume that losing fat automatically makes it healthier — but this study shows you can make fat denser and healthier even without losing much weight.
Practical Takeaways
If you have central adiposity (belly fat), ask your doctor about fat quality — not just quantity — and whether improving it could help your heart and metabolism.
Publication
Journal
AIDS
Year
2021
Authors
J. Lake, Kristen La, Kristine M. Erlandson, S. Adrian, G. Yenokyan, A. Scherzinger, M. Dubé, T. Stanley, S. Grinspoon, J. Falutz, J. Mamputu, C. Marsolais, G. McComsey, T. Brown
Related Content
Claims (7)
Tesamorelin independently increases fat density in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, indicating improved fat quality with smaller adipocytes, better vascularization, reduced hypoxia, and decreased inflammation, independent of fat quantity changes.
For HIV patients with excess belly fat who responded to the drug tesamorelin, taking the drug for 26 weeks made the fat around their organs denser by 2.3 points on a CT scan scale, even after accounting for changes in fat amount, which suggests the fat became healthier.
The same HIV patients with belly fat who responded to tesamorelin also saw their under-the-skin fat become denser by 3.5 points on CT scans after 26 weeks, regardless of fat amount changes, indicating healthier fat tissue.
When HIV patients on tesamorelin had denser belly fat, their bodies also produced more adiponectin, a hormone that helps regulate metabolism, showing a link between fat quality and metabolic health.
Denser under-the-skin fat in HIV patients on tesamorelin was linked to higher levels of the metabolism-regulating hormone adiponectin, suggesting improved fat function.