Type 2 diabetes patients taking Ozempic and Wegovy may be getting an unexpected perk: a little extra backbone.
A new study suggests semaglutide — the active ingredient in the blockbuster weight-loss drugs — could help strengthen bones in type 2 diabetes sufferers, even as it melts the pounds away, according to a Science Daily report.
Researchers found that type 2 diabetes patients taking semaglutide were 15% less likely to suffer bone fractures than patients using other popular weight-loss medications. That’s a surprising twist, since many experts had worried that rapid weight loss could leave bones more fragile.
Not only did semaglutide users lose more weight than patients taking competing treatments, but they also appeared less likely to break a bone, said the researchers, led by Dr. Jairo Noreña, a former endocrinology fellow at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif.
The research team dug through the medical records of more than 59,000 adults with type 2 diabetes.
Among the 26,324 semaglutide users, researchers recorded 794 fractures. The comparison group — 33,555 patients taking other weight-loss drugs — suffered a whopping 1,045 fractures.
The findings were unveiled at ENDO 2026 — the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, which took place from June 13-16. The confab brought together thousands of professionals in hormone science and medicine.
The findings carry real-world implications — particularly for the millions of older adults on weight-loss medications who may already be at risk for bone loss.
“Bone fractures are painful, expensive and can seriously affect quality of life—especially as people get older,” Noreña said. “We hope this study encourages monitoring of bone health in weight-loss programs.
“This work is an important early step toward understanding the impact of semaglutide-induced weight loss on bone health in patients with type 2 diabetes.”
