New study reveals unexpected health benefit from weight loss drugs that could help millions

A new study has revealed an unexpected way that GLP-1 drugs could be aiding your health - and it's nothing to do with weight loss.

Drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy have been increasing in popularity in the last few years. According to the BBC, an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK have turned to the jabs; meanwhile, across the pond, it was reported last year that a whopping one in eight adults in the US have tried a GLP-1 drug.

But, despite their popularity, users have been speaking out about a slew of different side effects, including hair loss, sickness, and heartburn, with buzzwords like 'Ozempic vulva' and 'Ozempic mouth' also popping up.

To be clear, Ozempic is not a weight loss drug and is only approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

But now, a scientific study has revealed the surprising way that weight loss and type 2 diabetes drugs could be helping you out.

Weight loss drugs and type 2 diabetes medications could be aiding your health in more ways that one (Getty Stock Image)

Research suggested that the drugs could actually reduce the risk of heart patients being hospitalised or dying early by half.

They have been found to offer 'dramatic benefits' to heart patients, significantly cutting their risk of becoming seriously ill, reports The Guardian.

The shock findings were presented at the 2025 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, Spain, last month.

How did the study work?

Researchers conducted trials involving patients with a type of heart failure called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and treated them with either GLP-1 receptor agonists or a placebo.

A total of 54 worsening heart failure events were reported among 1,914 patients receiving GLP1-receptor antagonist treatment, compared to 86 events among 1,829 patients receiving placebo.

In short, it revealed that tirzepatide cut the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure or death from any cause by 58 percent, while those taking semaglutide were 42 percent less likely.

Author of the groundbreaking study, which was the largest of its kind, Dr Nils Krüger, said: “Despite the widespread morbidity and mortality burden of HFpEF, current treatment options are limited.

The drugs had 'dramatic benefits' for heart patients (Getty Stock Image)

"Both semaglutide and tirzepatide are well known for their effects on weight loss and blood sugar control, but our study suggests they may also offer substantial benefits to patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes by reducing adverse heart failure outcomes."

She added: “Our findings show that in the future, GLP-1 targeting medications could provide a much-needed treatment option for patients with heart failure.”

Meanwhile, Dr Carlos Aguiar, the vice-president of the European Society of Cardiology and a renowned expert in heart failure, has praised the findings.

He said: “What this shows is that there is a benefit in using one of these two agents, semaglutide or tirzepatide, to reduce the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure or all-cause mortality.

“We thought that we actually might not really find a treatment that would work well for a significant proportion of these patients, and what’s been a good surprise is that these drugs that are working through weight loss, but possibly through other effects that go beyond weight loss, are potentially reducing the rates of hospitalisation and mortality in patients with heart failure."