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Taking a GLP-1 medication for weight loss may improve male fertility, according to experts.
Research presented this week at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, explored how obesity is strongly linked to fertility problems in men.
Excess weight can contribute to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis — the hormone system that regulates testosterone production — and functional hypogonadism, a condition in which testosterone levels are abnormally low because of disrupted hormone signaling. These changes can also impair semen quality.
WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATIONS COULD IMPACT SEXUAL HEALTH IN UNEXPECTED WAYS
The researchers evaluated how GLP-1 weight-loss drugs impact reproductive hormones and metabolic outcomes, analyzing data of men between the ages of 18 and 65 who were taking one of the medications, according to a press release.
The systematic review of five randomized controlled trials focused on measuring testosterone, brain hormones involved in testosterone and sperm production, and a protein that carries sex hormones in the blood. Semen quality, weight and BMI, cholesterol and blood sugar were also measured.
The results suggested that GLP-1 medications do not suppress male hormones. Men with obesity and low testosterone linked to obesity may experience improved testosterone, sperm quality and metabolic health, especially during weight loss.
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In one four-week study, dulaglutide showed no significant changes in reproductive hormones or sexual function.
In a separate 16-week trial, liraglutide improved hormones in obese men with functional hypogonadism, meaning low testosterone was likely related to obesity. The review found that liraglutide was better for health outcomes than hormone replacement therapy.
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Another liraglutide study reported improved sperm concentration and count.
A 24-week trial of semaglutide, known commercially as Ozempic and Wegovy, saw improvement in sperm shape and bad cholesterol, while preserving total testosterone.
As only five trials were included, the small evidence base suggests more research is necessary to prove further association.
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In an abstract of the research, the authors summed up that GLP-1s “do not appear to acutely suppress the male HPG axis and may improve reproductive hormones and semen parameters in obese hypogonadal men, largely within the context of weight loss.”
“However, evidence remains limited and heterogeneous, underscoring the need for larger RCTs explicitly powered to assess male reproductive outcomes,” they wrote.
Dr. Anthony Puopolo, men’s health expert and lead medical provider for RexMD, reflected on these findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“This provides early evidence that GLP-1 medications taken by obese men with hypogonadism/low testosterone (low T) improves testosterone levels,” he said.
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While more research is necessary, Pupolo, who was not involved in the study, shared his optimism about how GLP-1s can play a role in improving male fertility.

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.”

Utah has spent the past year fighting measles outbreaks — a grim milestone that could affect whether the United States can keep its measles-free designation.
More than 680 people have gotten sick since the state’s first outbreak began on June 20, 2025.
Unlike measles outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the spread in Utah has been tough to contain to one region — infecting undervaccinated communities in nearly every county.
Measles popped up in healthcare settings, big-box stores and restaurants, and youth sporting events. In February, an exposure at a state high school wrestling championship sparked at least 46 cases among attendees.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to medicine. It causes a tell-tale rash, high fevers, strong cough, ear infections and diarrhea.
While most recover, some — including young babies, pregnant people and those with weak immune systems — are at higher risk of developing dangerous complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, blindness or even dying. Even healthy people can develop issues years down the road, including a rare but fatal degenerative brain disease that manifests about a decade after infection.
The measles vaccine is safe and 97% protective after two doses.
Though Utah’s spread has slowed in recent weeks, state epidemiologist Leisha Nolen sees little opportunity to rest. She’s worried the start of school and arrival of colder weather in the fall will cause measles to surge again.
“It’s still here, it’s still transmitting,” she said. “We just need those few cases to hit the wrong community and it could flare up really big again.”
Utah sees the impacts of dropping vaccination rates
The worst spread has been in the southwestern part of the state, where 265 people have fallen ill with the vaccine-preventable disease since last summer. Overall, measles infections hit 22 of the state’s 29 counties.
In the state’s rural northeast, the conditions were also ripe for measles to spread. Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties — collectively dubbed the “tricounty” health region — has seen the second-largest decline in childhood vaccination rates in the state.
More than 16% of the region’s kindergarteners were missing their measles vaccines in the last school year, according to state data. Statewide, 12.8% were missing their vaccine, putting the state far short of the 95% vaccination rate needed to prevent measles outbreaks.
The TriCounty Health Department logged 74 cases of measles this spring, after people who got sick at the youth wrestling tournament spread the virus in school and later within their households.
The frontier region had seen a rise in vaccine hesitancy for some time, said Sydnee Lyons, the health department’s public information officer.
Despite the large number of cases, local and state health officials consider TriCounty’s measles response a success.
Health officials focused efforts on mitigating the inevitable spread. Unvaccinated students were excluded from in-person school and people who were sick were told to isolate themselves. And their appeal to care for one’s neighbors led to more people coming in to get vaccinated, officials said.
TriCounty’s infectious disease specialist Cyndie Mattinson recalled a parent who told a school nurse she didn’t want to talk to the health department because “she was worried that we would be angry with her and be judgmental because her children were unvaccinated.”
The nurse vouched for the health department staff, and told the mom to let her know if she felt judged. Mattinson ultimately had a great conversation with the mother.
“The perceptions were changed that we weren’t out there to police, we were there to be a help and a resource to the community,” Mattinson said.
Health experts will meet to decide on US measles status
Utah’s lengthy battle with measles will likely affect whether the U.S. can keep its measles-free designation. Public health officials consider measles to be eliminated from a country when it shows it stopped continuous spread within local communities for at least a year.
The national measles case count was 2,104 as of June 18, nearly surpassing last year’s record total.
Utah has fought measles for a year, but it’s not clear if the earliest clusters are connected with the major outbreak on the Utah-Arizona state line, which was detected in August, Nolen said.
But since then, most of the state’s measles cases have come from within Utah, not from other parts of the country.
International health experts will gather in November to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles elimination status. Canada lost its status last year after ongoing outbreaks.
In Utah, doctors continue to reassure scared patients and lobby for better public health policy.
Dr. Ellie Brownstein, president-elect of the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician in Salt Lake City, spent the height of the outbreak opposing a bill that would have made school vaccine waivers easier to get. It failed, but she says there hasn’t been a clear cultural reckoning over measles’ resurgence.
“I don’t know that we get it to end,” Brownstein said. “I don’t know that we’re going to get this genie back in the box because there’s enough people out there to spread it.”
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Summer is here, and just as we are shedding layers and welcoming the sunshine, insects are lining up to feast on our flesh.
While ticks and the scary diseases they carry are among the most fearsome of warm-weather insects, another tiny pest is making a meal out of mankind in a truly horrifying fashion.
Chiggers, miniature mites that live in grassy, wooded areas or near water, come alive in the summer season when warmer temperatures create ideal conditions for feeding and breeding.
Related to spiders and ticks, chiggers are petite parasites that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Though they be but small, their effects are mighty and their approach to growth truly disturbing.
The creepy life cycle of a chigger begins when it hatches from an egg. These juvenile larval mites (band name) then feed on the skin of an animal or human host before falling off and transitioning into their adult form.
These six-legged larvae rely on the flesh of their hosts to supply the nutrients they need to grow into their eight-legged, non-parasitic best selves.
Typically, chigger larvae attach to clothing, favoring areas such as waistbands, bra lines and sock lines where skin and clothing are in close contact.
To satisfy their appalling appetites, chigger larvae move from clothing to skin, releasing a powerful digestive enzyme to make our cells slurpable.
As the enzyme liquifies skin cells, it hardens the surrounding tissue, creating a straw-like tube — known as a stylostome — that allows the chiggers to drink from our dermis like a morbid milkshake.
Because mites have mouths that can pierce but not tear or consume, this skin straw enables them to suck up liquified skin cells and, in some cases, blood for their gnarly nourishment.
Bottoms up.
The enzyme that kills skin cells also causes the intense itching that we associate with a chigger attack. The irritation peaks during the first 24-48 hours after contact, then subsides over the following two weeks.
The most common areas for chiggers to attach and attack are the ankles, lower legs, backs of the knees, waist and groin.
Chigger bites are not immediately apparent, as symptoms can take up to 3 hours after contact to appear.
Symptoms include red spots or pimples on the skin and severe itching.
Because chiggers feed on the skin rather than burrow into it, a rash usually appears only after the mites have detached, and treatment focuses on alleviating itching rather than parasite removal.
Treatment options include cleaning the affected area with soap and water, applying calamine lotion, cold compresses, and permethrin, and/or taking antihistamines.
You can prevent becoming chigger lunch by wearing protective clothing, using insect repellent, treating clothing with insect repellent, and avoiding outdoor activity in grassy, wet, or wooded areas during the summer months.

NEED TO KNOW
Years after childhood cancer treatment left Lacey Duvall’s teeth weakened, a domestic violence incident in 2022 caused further damage and led to full reconstruction
The mother of four from Arkansas then spent three years saving for treatment before finally undergoing implant surgery in May 2026
And while a viral recovery video showing the significant swelling and bruising from the procedure drew nearly 5 million views, Duvall tells PEOPLE the outcome restored her smile and confidence
When Lacey Duvall began documenting her recovery from dental implant surgery online, many viewers assumed they were watching a medical nightmare unfold. The swelling was significant, the bruising startling and the healing process appeared long and painful.
But behind the dramatic images was a story of resilience years in the making. For Duvall, 37, the procedure marked the first chance in three years to reclaim the confidence and smile she had fought so hard to rebuild.
“What many people saw online was six days of bruising. What I saw was a cancer survivor six days into a life-changing transformation. Those are two very different stories,” her surgeon, Samuel F. Jirik, Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), tells PEOPLE exclusively.
Long before the viral videos, Duvall had been living with the lasting effects of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. The same treatment that helped save her life also affected her teeth, leaving them brittle and prone to breaking.
For years, she did everything she could to preserve them, but a domestic violence incident in 2022 left her “already compromised teeth” broken.
“After the domestic violence event that broke my teeth, I became a single mom and lost everything,” Duvall tells PEOPLE exclusively. “My four kids and I had to start from scratch, no house, no vehicle.”
With her family taking priority at the time, dental treatment had to wait — and although the pain remained, so did her determination to find a solution.
“My teeth were in pain for three years before I could afford to have them fixed properly,” Duvall reveals. “I worked three jobs and went to college online while saving and trying to find a dentist with financing I could get approved for.”
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When Duvall finally began meeting with specialists, she looked for someone who understood both the complexity of her case and her goals for the final result. After several consultations, she chose to have her surgery done with Dr. Jirik in May 2026.
The total came to about $54,000, and with insurance only covering part of it, she financed the rest and is paying it down gradually over time.
What stood out most during their early conversations was the collaborative approach Dr. Jirik brought to the process. “He listened to what I wanted and assured me he could customize my bridges to what I liked,” she recalls.
According to Dr. Jirik, Duvall’s medical history made the procedure more challenging than a typical implant case and required extensive planning before surgery could begin.
“At our practice, we routinely treat patients with advanced dental needs and complex medical histories,” he explains. “Many patients are told they are not candidates for dental implants because of previous cancer treatment, bone loss or other health concerns. Through advanced implant techniques and extensive treatment planning, we’re often able to provide options that help patients regain their function, confidence and quality of life.”
And although Duvall knew recovery would take time, the days following surgery proved more difficult than she anticipated. Significant bruising and swelling made it impossible to return to work as quickly as she had planned.
“I expected a few days off from work, but I ended up needing a week,” she reveals. “My face was too scary looking to return to work just a few days post [operation] and my body needed more time to heal and rest.”
As Duvall’s recovery gained traction online, viewers were often focused on the dramatic appearance of the bruising, but Dr. Jirik viewed the healing process through a different lens.
Providing context to Duvall’s videos, he says, “What’s important is that bruising, while dramatic in appearance, does not necessarily indicate a problem with the procedure itself. In Lacey’s case, we monitored her closely throughout recovery and saw the healing progress we anticipated.”
Today, her bruises have faded, the swelling has subsided, and the outcome she spent years working toward has finally become reality — something Dr. Jirik says is among the most rewarding aspects of his work.
“Helping patients like Lacey is my life’s passion. We see patients who struggle with pain, failing teeth, embarrassment, difficulty eating, or being told there are no good treatment options,” he says. “Lacey’s life has been challenging, especially with her cancer treatment, and she deserved the opportunity to smile, eat and live confidently again.”
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For Duvall, the procedure was never just about replacing damaged teeth. It was about moving forward after years of hardship and finally feeling like she could smile without hesitation.
“It is a very emotional experience because for so long I self-isolated to hide how bad my teeth were,” she tells PEOPLE. “Now I feel like the world is my oyster.”