Nature metabolismJun 24, 2026

Exercise and liraglutide's effects on blood vessel health and inflammation during weight loss maintenance

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jun 25, 2026

Abstract

In a study involving 130 adults with obesity, exercise alone or combined with liraglutide reduced carotid intima-media thickness and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.

Exercise significantly decreased carotid intima-media thickness, indicating improved arterial health.
Systemic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and interferon-γ were reduced with exercise.
Combination treatment of exercise and liraglutide led to improved endothelial function markers, including sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and tPA.
Liraglutide alone did not demonstrate improvements in these vascular health indicators.
Regular physical activity is associated with enhanced vascular health among adults with obesity.

Simplified

Obesity and inactivity are linked to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. In this secondary analysis of the S-LiTE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04122716 ; EudraCT identifier: 2015-005585-32 ), 130 adults with obesity completed a diet-induced weight loss plan, followed by randomization to weight maintenance with exercise and/or liraglutide for 52 weeks. We show that exercise, alone or in combination with liraglutide, reduces carotid intima-media thickness and systemic pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (interleukin-6 and interferon-γ). Combination treatment also improves endothelial function biomarkers (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and tPA). Liraglutide alone shows no such improvements. Overall, regular physical activity, with or without GLP-1R agonists, is essential for promoting vascular health in adults with obesity.

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Competing interests

Competing interests: J.J.H. is on the advisory board of Novo Nordisk. L.M.O. currently works at Novo Nordisk and was employed after data collection and the end of the study. The spouse of T.B. works at Novo Nordisk; T.B. and spouse own Novo Nordisk stocks. In the last 5 years, S.M. has been on the advisory boards of AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Bayer; received lecture fees from AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk; been a research grant recipient from Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim; and received support for attending meetings and/or travel from Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim. S.S.T. has received research grants and honoraria for lectures and has had a membership on an advisory panel for Novo Nordisk. The other authors declare no competing interests.

PubMed

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Exercise and liraglutide's effects on blood vessel health and inflammation during weight loss maintenance

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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