A key problem to loss of LBM is that you’re either losing bone density (a terrible thing) or muscle (a pretty damn bad thing).
Could also be skin. Losing skin if you’re losing fat is a good thing, I’d think, since you don’t want to weigh 200 pounds yet still have all the skin you had when you were 300 pounds.
Has any work been done to see where the LBM has been coming from?
Not to my knowledge. There’s a handful of studies that are pretty superficial (i.e. people come in for some DEXA (body composition) scans and that’s it. I think it’s going to take some time, because anyone involved in seeking approval of the drug has a huge negative incentive to look in this box, given the at least plausibly neutral results from the first supportive studies.
I think the place to look for citizen science on this is going to be in the longevity community and similar areas where you have people semi-openly experimenting with what is sometimes colloquially called “sports TRT” (i.e. running a testosterone only steroid cycle with modest amounts compared to other uses). Certainly a lot of people that hoped on the TRT optimization bandwagon in the last few years (telemedicine changes may have spurred this on as far as I can tell) are overweight, and I can’t imagine they won’t try another (sometimes insurance eligible) injectable to fix the overweight part. The data will be messy, but I think there will be hints in a few years.
Could also be skin. Losing skin if you’re losing fat is a good thing, I’d think, since you don’t want to weigh 200 pounds yet still have all the skin you had when you were 300 pounds.
Has any work been done to see where the LBM has been coming from?
Not to my knowledge. There’s a handful of studies that are pretty superficial (i.e. people come in for some DEXA (body composition) scans and that’s it. I think it’s going to take some time, because anyone involved in seeking approval of the drug has a huge negative incentive to look in this box, given the at least plausibly neutral results from the first supportive studies.
I think the place to look for citizen science on this is going to be in the longevity community and similar areas where you have people semi-openly experimenting with what is sometimes colloquially called “sports TRT” (i.e. running a testosterone only steroid cycle with modest amounts compared to other uses). Certainly a lot of people that hoped on the TRT optimization bandwagon in the last few years (telemedicine changes may have spurred this on as far as I can tell) are overweight, and I can’t imagine they won’t try another (sometimes insurance eligible) injectable to fix the overweight part. The data will be messy, but I think there will be hints in a few years.