Can GLP-1 Weight Loss Medications Help With Hormonal Weight Gain?

Posted on August 28, 2026 by

Hormones. We've all got them. And chances are, at one time or another, we have all wished we didn't. From unrelenting acne as teenagers to mood swings during pregnancy, they can cause havoc throughout the body.

And, as any woman who has been through menopause will tell you, they can also cause havoc with your weight. According to the Mayo Clinic, weight gain often continues at about the rate of 1.5 pounds (0.7 kilograms) each year as women go through their 50s — even with exercise. This is due to the natural drop in oestrogen and progesterone. Men are far from immune, either. Andropause, which happens between 40 and 79, means that the average man will add around 2 inches to his waist, increasing his BMI by around 2 points (Jackson, 2012). Why? In a similar vein, it is due to the gradual decline in testosterone.

With the rise in GLP-1s for weight loss, this begs the question: if hormones are the culprit, will these weight loss medications be as effective?

Our team at the Bodyline Clinic work with women and men across all age groups. However, our main group of patients are in the middle-aged category. In other words, we work a lot with this age group and have the clinical knowledge to know how to manage hormone-related weight gain, with our specialised complex care programmes. We have over 18 years of experience helping people to hit their weight loss goals safely and effectively.

Here, we will look at the common occurrences of hormone-related weight gain and whether GLP-1s can help.

Why Do Hormonal Shifts Cause Weight Gain?

This is an interesting query, and it's one we need to understand a bit better to assess whether GLP-1s can help shift hormonally based weight.

For women, as they get older, the change in weight is usually due to a decline in oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen, in particular, has an impact on your metabolism and where your fat reserves are stored.

As you enter perimenopause and menopause, several changes may appear gradually:

• Your fat will move from your thighs and hips to your abdomen. You may develop a larger waist with no drastic increase in your overall weight.
• Muscle mass decreases with age. As someone gets older, they need to eat more protein to sustain their muscles. Muscle uses more energy at rest than fat does, so less muscle can minimise how much energy is being used.
• Some women develop issues with their insulin sensitivity. This means that rather than burning off energy, the body stores it as fat.
• Sleep changes. Menopausal symptoms like hot flushes can make sleep lower quality, meaning regular exercise can become harder. It also means your appetite may go off, prompting consumption of sugar and carbs.

For men, there is a more gradual decline in testosterone. Coined as "andropause", lower levels of testosterone as men age are linked to:

• A reduction in muscle mass and strength.
• Increases in body fat, in particular visceral (abdominal) fat.
• Potential decreases in energy, leading to a reduction in physical activity, which can add to weight gain.

For these changes, many doctors in the UK will prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The good news is that for the weight gain side, GLP-1 medications are an effective weight management tool for those irritating inches you can't shift in your 40s.

The Big One: Pregnancy

Before we get on to GLP-1s for hormonally related weight gain, we need to talk about pregnancy.

There is a difference between wanting to lose weight after pregnancy and postpartum weight retention. For this article, we will focus on the latter. For women who were overweight when they became pregnant, there is evidence that once the baby is born, they will struggle with weight retention.

At the time of writing, GLP-1s are not recommended during pregnancy or when a woman is breastfeeding. Due to this, the data on the effectiveness of GLP-1s during the postpartum phase is limited. So, we cannot say safely whether or not these medications are helpful for women who want to lose baby weight. As always, watch this space, as there may be some studies in the works, which we will look at when they are released.

GLP-1s and Hormonal Changes

There has been quite a lot of research into how GLP-1s can impact men and women who are going through hormonal changes due to age.

Let's start with men. As mentioned earlier, andropause causes a natural decline in testosterone. But do GLP-1s help with the weight gain and loss of muscle mass that can accompany this natural drop? The good news is that they seem to.

Semaglutide

The key ingredient in Wegovy (and Ozempic) is semaglutide, and for men who have had hormonal weight gain, it has had something of a striking impact in clinical trials.

A small study from 2025 published in the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism journal noted that:

• In the group of men given 1mg of semaglutide weekly for 24 weeks, body weight decreased significantly.
• The weight loss was accompanied by improvements in metabolic health and testosterone levels.
• This highlights that semaglutide can produce meaningful weight loss in middle-aged men with obesity, type 2 diabetes and obesity-related functional hypogonadism.

So, that potentially ticks the weight loss box, the complex care box and even the metabolic box all at the same time. Of course, for hormonal issues in men, NICE guidelines recommend that these need to be clinically investigated to assess an underlying cause, rather than simply prescribing testosterone.

Our team at the Bodyline Clinic can offer low testosterone treatments for men. However, primary care of hormone-related issues should be managed by a GP or an endocrinologist.

Menopause and Perimenopause

To be clear: GLP-1s are not a treatment for menopause. Our team can offer the "M Plan" for women, which helps with medical treatment and support for menopause. But this is not a substitute for secondary support that you may receive from your doctor or consultant.

We always recommend that any woman going through perimenopause or menopause talk to her doctor about the appropriate primary treatment, including whether testing is appropriate, and whether treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help.

With this weight gain, do GLP-1s offer a similar result as they do in men? Again, they seem to. The important distinction is that GLP-1 medications target appetite, blood sugar regulation and weight management, whereas menopause supplements are usually positioned as general wellbeing support.

Here is a summary of the key studies to date:

• 2024 — Semaglutide — Postmenopause: Women taking GLP-1s and HRT lost 7% at 3 months, 13% at 6 months, 15% at 9 months and 16% at 12 months.
• 2025 — Semaglutide — Postmenopause: Postmenopausal women lost an average of 5.9kg (5.8% body weight) after four months.
• 2025 — Tirzepatide — Perimenopause: SURMOUNT-1 analysis — women in perimenopause experienced an average 23% reduction in body weight with tirzepatide.
• 2025 — Tirzepatide — Postmenopause: Postmenopausal women experienced an average 23% reduction in body weight with tirzepatide.*
• 2025 — Tirzepatide — Pre/perimenopause: Premenopausal women experienced a 26% reduction in body weight.*

*These last two are from the same study, a post hoc analysis from the SURMOUNT programme.

As always, these GLP-1 medications were prescribed alongside dietary changes and an increase in exercise. When you come to the Bodyline Clinic, we will work with you to ensure that the diet and exercise we recommend are sustainable, helping you to stay on track with your weight loss.

Why Choose Bodyline?

Hormones are hard. We know that! When it comes to shifting the weight that comes with them, our team at the Bodyline Clinic can help. Whether you have tried lifestyle changes, menopause supplements or other forms of support, we focus on safe, medically guided weight loss.

We have over 18 years of experience in this area and have helped over 100,000 patients across the UK to hit their weight loss goals. We personalise each person's journey with us and offer a range of complex care options that may have led to you being excluded from GLP-1 treatments from online pharmacies and doctors.

Your weight loss needs care and professional oversight. So, if you are having a hard time shifting that postmenopausal weight, contact our team at the Bodyline Clinic and let's see if we can help you.

FAQs

Why Do Hormonal Shifts Cause Weight Gain?

It is due to a decline in testosterone in men, and primarily oestrogen in women. Both seem to result in fat being moved from the hips and thighs to the stomach. This means that the fat can be more visible, without someone necessarily gaining weight overall.

Hormonal Shifts in Men and Women: Do GLP-1s Help?

The research is rather limited at the time of writing, but yes. When it comes to hormonal weight gain, GLP-1s like semaglutide and tirzepatide have been found to help reduce visceral fat in both men and women.

Which GLP-1 Is the Most Effective?

The only two GLP-1s that have been explored in this area are semaglutide and tirzepatide. Tirzepatide studies in premenopausal and postmenopausal women showed weight loss of over 20%, making it the most effective of the two in this context.