GLP-1 drugs – A systematic review presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago suggests GLP-1 medications could increase testosterone levels and improve sperm quality in men with obesity. Researchers caution the evidence is still preliminary, but related s
For men living with obesity and symptoms of low testosterone. the prospect of a medication that does more than control weight can feel like a long-awaited shift. At the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago. Illinois. a systematic review presented today pointed to a possible payoff: GLP-1 drugs. now widely used for obesity. may also raise testosterone levels and improve the quality of sperm.
The evidence is not settled yet. Review co-author Pratibha Natesh, an endocrinologist at Warwick Medical School in Coventry, UK, said the association remains preliminary and needs more robust trials to confirm it. Still, the emerging trail of studies is getting harder to ignore.
GLP-1 drugs work by binding to the same receptor as a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). creating a feeling of fullness. To understand what that might mean for male fertility. Natesh and colleagues searched the literature for randomized controlled trials of GLP-1 drugs that included measurements of testosterone levels in men. They found only five studies.
In one of those trials, 30 men with low testosterone levels—known as hypogonadism—and obesity were assigned at random to receive either a GLP-1 drug or testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). After 16 weeks, testosterone levels rose in both groups.
A second randomized study involved 25 men with type 2 diabetes and hypogonadism. They were assigned at random to receive either a GLP-1 drug or TRT. After 24 weeks, testosterone levels increased in both groups, though the increase was greater among those receiving TRT. In the GLP-1 group. sperm quality improved: the percentage of morphologically typical sperm—those with a perfect shape and size—rose from 2% at the start of the study to 4% by the end. In the TRT group, sperm count and quality declined, which is expected during this type of therapy.
The other three trials were different in design. They involved healthy men receiving GLP-1 medications for short periods of time, and they showed that the drugs had no effect on testosterone levels.
A broader look beyond randomized trials is also lining up with the same direction. Research presented last month at the American Urological Association annual meeting in Washington DC by Andrés Guillén-Lozoya. a physician at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Minnesota. analyzed electronic health records of more than 1. 600 men who had been prescribed obesity drugs. Testosterone levels increased by around 30% after treatment with either a GLP-1 drug or a drug that mimics both GLP-1 and a separate hormone called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide.
A retrospective study examined electronic health records of 215 men treated with weight-loss drugs. After treatment, their testosterone levels were, on average, around 20% higher than before treatment.
Obesity itself is already known to lower testosterone, a hormone essential for the production of sperm and therefore for fertility. One reason involves fat cells: they contain high levels of an enzyme that converts testosterone into oestradiol. the main female sex hormone. But obesity also changes metabolism and can raise inflammation—both of which can affect testosterone production.
For Natesh, the message is practical even as the science is still catching up. Her view is that the findings should be an “eye opener to all endocrinologists” treating men—especially those planning to conceive—who have obesity and symptoms of low testosterone. Those symptoms can include low libido, depressed mood and muscle loss.
The data suggest that for people who have low testosterone, addressing obesity with lifestyle changes and possibly weight-loss drugs may be a reasonable strategy. In many cases, those interventions will be enough to bring testosterone levels back up.
“I come across a number of patients in this similar situation,” Natesh said. Her advice to colleagues is not to prescribe “testosterone immediately, look at the broader picture.”
The review was presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The article was reproduced with permission and was first published on June 15, 2026.
GLP-1 obesity drugs testosterone sperm quality male fertility hypogonadism type 2 diabetes Endocrine Society clinical trial
So they’re saying the shot helps with sperm too? That’s kinda wild.
I don’t even know if I trust this. Like if they “only found five studies” then how is it a real thing? Sounds like clickbait honestly.
Wait so GLP-1 like Ozempic raises testosterone and sperm quality? That sounds good but also I feel like TRT already exists so why would they need this. Also does it cause fertility problems for women or whatever? People ignore the side effects part.
My cousin was on one of those and he said his energy changed, so I’m not shocked. But this article makes it seem like it’s already proven when it’s like “preliminary”?? And the receptor thing with GLP-1… I swear every hormone is connected to something now. Next they’ll say it cures everything.