The Study
Longer‐term liraglutide administration at the highest dose approved for obesity increases reward‐related orbitofrontal cortex activation in response to food cues: Implications for plateauing weight loss in response to anti‐obesity therapies
This study is like a fair test where people were randomly given either the real medicine or a fake one, and no one knew which they got. It can show that the medicine really causes weight loss and helps blood sugar, but the brain scan results are more like a clue — they suggest something might be happening in the brain, but we can’t be sure yet.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study looked at how a medicine called liraglutide, used for weight loss, affects the brain when people see food. It found that after 5 weeks, people lost weight and their brains reacted differently to food pictures — but only when we account for the weight they lost.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 566 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though the brain change seems small, it might explain why weight loss slows down over time — the brain pushes back to protect body weight.
- 2People lost 2.7% more weight than with a fake shot.
- 3Their brain's 'reward' area (orbitofrontal cortex) became more active when seeing food, but only after adjusting for weight loss.
- 4Brain responses without that adjustment didn’t change.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Diabetes
Year
2019
Authors
Olivia M. Farr, J. Upadhyay, Chelsea Rutagengwa, Bridget DiPrisco, Zachary Ranta, Amal Adra, Neha Bapatla, V. P. Douglas, K. Douglas, Eric Nolen-Doerr, H. Mathew, C. Mantzoros
Related Content
Claims (5)
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.
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 lost.
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.
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.
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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.