Liraglutide

Liraglutide is a well-studied prescription option with its clearest case in type 2 diabetes, especially at high cardiovascular risk, where LEADER supplies outcome evidence few metabolic drugs can match. For weight management alone, it produces moderate average weight loss, and independent reviewers rate several obesity outcomes with limited certainty. Daily injections, common nausea and a higher dropout rate than weekly semaglutide keep it from ranking higher, which is why the score of 5.0–5.5/10 lands in the middle. The safety profile is acceptable for indicated patients under supervision but not trivial, because pancreatitis can be serious and gallbladder disease becomes more common with rapid weight loss. Anyone with medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2 in the family shouldn't use it. Liraglutide is a prescription medicine for defined conditions, and nothing in this report supports using it outside a prescriber's care or from unregulated supply.

✅ Best for: Adults with type 2 diabetes and established or high cardiovascular risk, where liraglutide's LEADER outcome data apply directly; adults with obesity, or overweight plus a weight-related condition, whose prescriber has a specific reason to choose a daily GLP-1 receptor agonist; adolescents 12 and older who weigh more than 60 kg and have obesity, under a pediatric specialist and the label's 12-week BMI check; adults with prediabetes and obesity who want to lower their diabetes risk and accept ongoing treatment; and people prepared to pair treatment with resistance training and adequate protein.

❌ Avoid if: You or a close relative has had medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2; you've had pancreatitis or have active gallbladder disease without specialist input; you're pregnant or planning pregnancy; you have severe gastroparesis; you take insulin or a sulfonylurea without a plan to adjust doses; you're seeking it for a child under 12 for weight, since that use is research evidence rather than current labeled care; or you're considering gray-market or compounded supply, where identity and dose accuracy can't be assumed.