About 20 years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first GLP-1 medication for Type 2 diabetes. Today, the landscape has shifted, as the agency has approved various GLP-1 medications, not just for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, but for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, liver disease, chronic kidney disease and sleep apnea in certain populations. This new focus on a person’s health span — or era of life lived in good health — is changing the narrative on GLP-1s.
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What Are Longevity Drugs?
According to the Longevity Biotechnology Association, a global nonprofit focused on preventing diseases associated with aging and extending people’s health spans, longevity drugs are medications that would target at least one aging pathway, prevent multiple age-related diseases and improve a patient’s health span.
As of the date of this publication, there are no longevity drugs currently approved by the FDA, and the U.S. does not recognize aging as a disease indication — outside of premature aging conditions like Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome and some related syndromes. While the FDA does not recognize aging as a disease, medical researchers and experts see potential for GLP-1s to become longevity drugs — or, drugs that target pathways of aging and are capable of preventing multiple age-related diseases.
[READ: What to Eat — and Avoid — on GLP-1 Weight Loss Medications]
The Breakthrough Data: Inside the SELECT Trial
Part of the shift from the weight loss narrative of GLP-1s to a health span focus is due to the findings of the SELECT (Semaglutide Effects on Cardiovascular Outcomes) trial. This landmark international study of more than 17,000 adults from 41 countries demonstrated the potent affect GLP-1s can provide as cardiovascular interventions for patients without diabetes.
One of the key findings is the cardiovascular effects appeared even before noticeable weight loss, which suggests the drug acts directly on the heart and vascular system.
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What Can GLP-1s Treat, So Far?
GLP-1s are primarily used in and approved for use in overweight and diabetic patients, to assist with blood sugar management or weight loss. However, they are also approved to treat a few different conditions — in specific populations. Some of these include:
— Sleep apnea. The GLP-1 medication Zepbound (tirzepatide) is FDA-approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.
— Serious liver disease. The GLP-1 medication Wegovy (semaglutide) injection is FDA-approved to treat metabolic-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, which is a serious liver disease, in adults with moderate-to-advanced fibrosis.
— Chronic kidney disease. GLP-1s help to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease, especially for patients with diabetes or obesity.
— Reducing cardiac events. The injectable GLP-1 medication Wegovy is FDA-approved for reducing heart disease risk in adults who have cardiac disease and also overweight or obese, and the oral GLP-1 medication Rybelsus is FDA-approved for reducing cardiac risks in adults who have Type 2 diabetes and are at high risk.
Clinical Study Findings and Longevity Indicators
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How GLP-1s Fight Aging at a Cellular Level
GLP-1s may be able to fight aging pathways and age-related diseases through various mechanisms — some directly related to the inner workings of the drug, and some indirectly related to benefits like weight loss, which the drugs can provide.
“GLP-1 receptors are widely distributed throughout the body, including the brain, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, heart and vascular system — quite literally in every organ system in the body,” explains Dr. Michael Snyder, the medical director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at Rose Medical Center and the in-house obesity specialist for FuturHealth.
“These drugs influence appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, inflammation and energy balance at a fundamental physiologic level,” Snyder adds. “Because obesity is a systemic disease, treating it effectively leads to improvements across multiple organ systems. That’s also why these medications need to be used thoughtfully and under medical supervision.”
By activating the receptors, GLP-1 drugs may influence certain aspects of aging. At a December 2025 debate facilitated by the Longevity Biotechnology Association and posted to YouTube, aging researcher Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, noted pre-clinical research indicates GLP-1s may improve molecular and cellular processes that drive aging.
Barzilai added that about half of the effects of GLP-1s are seen as independent and not related to reducing obesity.
Still, it’s often tricky to tease apart influences. Because the drugs have predominantly been studied among people with diabetes or who are overweight — and because many of these benefits have been more clearly displayed among people who were at risk for them — further studies, including those on healthy individuals, will be needed to better understand the reach of these benefits.
Emerging Frontiers: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Addiction
While not yet FDA-approved for neurodegeneration, GLP-1s are currently being researched in clinical trials for a variety of longevity drug uses, including the following:
— Alzheimer’s Disease. Trials are investigating if GLP-1s can reduce brain inflammation and amyloid plaque buildup.
— Parkinson’s Disease. Early data suggests a slowing of motor disability progression.
— Substance Misuse. Research is expanding into how these drugs modulate reward pathways in the brain to treat alcohol, opioid and nicotine addiction.
[READ: Does Medicare Cover GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic and Zepbound?]
Bottom Line
The research and use of GLP-1s for longevity continues to evolve.
“As a standalone drug for longevity medicine, I think the jury is still out,” says Snyder. “We don’t yet have long-term data in otherwise healthy individuals, and these medications were not designed or studied for longevity per se,” he elaborates. “GLP-1s clearly improve many of the conditions that shorten lifespan — obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease,” he says. “From that standpoint, they likely improve health span.”
Dr. Mir Ali, a board-certified bariatric surgeon and the medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, agrees. “Currently, there’s just not enough evidence to show that these have effects on longevity and other things independent of the weight loss. So, primarily I still see them being used as a weight loss and diabetic medication.”
For GLP-1’s to get the “OK” as a longevity drug, experts say they first will need to undergo more rigorous study. Importantly, more studies will need to be conducted on perceivably healthy individuals to better understand if these benefits extend beyond their current populations.
“So far, these medications have been shown to have the greatest effect in diabetics and in patients with obesity,” Ali says. “It remains to be seen whether they have broader indications.”
Considerations like drug availability and affordability barriers, including lack of insurance coverage for many individuals, may also need to change if the FDA is to broaden approvals and increase access, he adds.
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The GLP-1 Effect: Beyond Weight Loss and Into Longevity originally appeared on usnews.com
