Study Finds Women's Employment Rose 27% After GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs

A study of more than 10,000 U.S. adults found that women who started GLP-1 weight-loss drugs experienced a 27% increase in employment roughly 18 months later. The research compared women who began the medications with a control group of women who expressed interest in the drugs but had not yet started them.

The data came from the University of California's Understanding America Study online panel.

Employment and relationship changes Unemployed women who took the drugs were more likely to find work. Single women taking the medications were also more likely to marry or begin living with a partner during the study period. The same analysis showed no measurable change in participants' self-reported life satisfaction.

Limits of the data The study could not determine whether the women who started the drugs later earned higher wages, because the panel lacked sufficient earnings data over the time frame examined. The researcher noted that existing relationships and long-term employment arrangements showed little change, while new labor-market and social outcomes shifted.