Award-winning study by DDEA-funded PhD scholar, MD Rasmus Sandsdal, finds that maintaining a large weight loss with exercise seems to reduce the development of atherosclerosis (a leading cause of heart attack and strokes), which was not seen with the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide.

MD Rasmus Sandsdal from the University of Copenhagen has received the prestigious EASD Early Career Academy Best Abstract Award 2025 for his work on cardiovascular protection during weight loss maintenance in people with obesity.

– Our findings reveal that regular exercise is crucial to helping people living with obesity get the full cardiovascular benefits after a substantial weight loss, says Rasmus Sandsdal.

A Danish Trial Shows the Power of Physical Activity

In the study, nearly 200 adults with obesity first followed an eight-week low-calorie diet and lost an average of 12% of their body weight. They were then randomly assigned to one of four weight maintenance strategies over one year:

• Exercise
• GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment (liraglutide, 3.0 mg/day)
• A combination of both
• Placebo

At the end of the trial, both liraglutide and exercise helped participants maintain their weight loss.
However, after a substantial weight loss only those who exercised – with or without liraglutide – showed improvements in key cardiovascular risk markers:

• Lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers
• Better endothelial function
• Reduced carotid artery thickness – an indicator of the development of atherosclerosis

Weight Loss is Not Enough – Movement Matters

– Regular exercise seems to confer a protective effect against the development of atherosclerosis in people trying to maintain weight loss. Since both exercise and GLP-1RA treatment were successful at keeping weight off, it seems that exercise plays an important role in mitigating cardiovascular risk factors in a weight-independent manner, says Rasmus Sandsdal.

– The most important message from our findings is that, for those trying to maintain weight loss, exercise is crucial in improving long-term health, adds corresponding author Professor Signe Sørensen Torekov.

From DDEA PhD Funding to International Recognition

In 2023, Rasmus Sandsdal received a PhD Scholarship from the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy (DDEA).

At DDEA, we are proud to follow the continued journey of researchers we have supported – and to see their work recognised by the international scientific community.

The research was presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna and is currently under peer review for publication.

Information About the Research and the Award

This ‘Best Abstract Award’ is proposed by the EASD Early Career Academy Committee to promote early career scientists and awarded to one early career researcher per scientific track. 

For more details about the research project, read the full EASD news release here: After weight loss regular exercise rather than GLP-1 weight-loss drug reduces leading cause of heart attack and strokes

Watch Rasmus Sandsdal’s oral presentation from EASD here

Read the award-winning abstract here: Exercise combined with GLP-1 receptor antagonist preserves bone mineral density during weight loss maintance

Contact information for interviews: MD Rasmus Sandsdal at sandsdal@sund.ku.dk or Professor Signe Torekov at torekov@sund.ku.dk