Experts break down the effects stress can have on GLP-1 results

A claim circulating widely on social media suggests that elevated cortisol levels caused by stress can stop GLP-1 weight loss medications from working.

Medscape Medical News put the question to four obesity medicine specialists, asking whether chronic stress and elevated cortisol genuinely diminish the effectiveness of GLP-1 drugs.

Their response was unanimous: there is no evidence that they do, despite the unverified claims gaining traction across social media.

Despite the lack of scientific backing, the physicians said the question is becoming a regular one from patients.

Kevin R. Gendreau, a family medicine and obesity medicine physician at Signature Healthcare in Brockton, Massachusetts, said he has been fielding the concern 'almost weekly now'.

"Cortisol does not switch off your GLP-1," Gendreau said. "There is no good evidence that everyday stress makes these medications stop working."

Experts were unanimous to deny claims made across social media that stress causes GLP-1's to stop working (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Can stress affect how well GLP-1 medications work?

Gendreau explained that while stress itself doesn't block the medication, it can make healthy habits harder to maintain.

During stressful periods, patients often sleep less, move less, eat more calorie-dense comfort food, drink more alcohol, and become less consistent with their routines.

"That can slow the scale," he said, "but the medication is still doing its job." He added that the claim may have the science backwards altogether, arguing that GLP-1 medications can actually help patients cope with stress by quieting 'food noise' and blunting emotional eating.

Caroline M. Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, agreed, stating plainly, 'There's no science behind these claims'.

Sarah Stombaugh, a family medicine and obesity medicine physician in Charlottesville, Virginia, said she hears the same question regularly from patients and warned people to be cautious of anyone pushing the cortisol theory while simultaneously selling supplements or stress-reduction programs.

Experts explained that while stress itself doesn't block the medication, it can make healthy habits harder to maintain. (Getty stock image)

Does elevated cortisol block weight loss drugs from working?

Robert L. Dubin, an associate professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, said published studies do not support the idea that ordinary, everyday variations in cortisol prevent GLP-1 therapies from working. He clarified that this applies to normal fluctuations in cortisol, not the markedly elevated levels seen in endocrine disorders such as Cushing syndrome.

Dubin noted that while GLP-1 receptor stimulation can briefly activate the body's stress-hormone system, chronic use of the medication has not been shown to cause sustained cortisol elevation. He also pointed to a small study comparing patients who responded well to GLP-1 treatment against those who didn't, which found no significant difference in cortisol levels between the two groups, suggesting stress hormones are unlikely to explain why some patients lose more weight than others.

According to Dubin, even in cases of clinically significant cortisol excess, there's no evidence it causes true resistance to GLP-1 medications, and any underlying hormonal disorder should be diagnosed and treated separately rather than assuming a higher GLP-1 dose will fix it.

Ely Lily and Noro Nordisk have been approached for comment