Local providers talk benefits, side effects of GLP-1 medications
JACKSON — To Dr. Jim Little Jr., a family medicine doctor at St. John’s Health, understanding GLP-1 medications is a bit like understanding how race cars are maintained.
GLP-1 medications have taken off in recent years for their weight-loss effectiveness. But rather than focusing on how they might treat the “outside of the car,” Little suggested focusing on how the drugs could treat our internal biological engine.
“We focus way too much on the paint job — lost 50 pounds, celebrity miracle makeover — but what really matters is what’s under the hood,” Little said. “It’s the things that you can’t see that these medicines do that I think are the very important things.”
Little has prescribed GLP-1 medications to many patients in Jackson Hole.
On Thursday evening, he and four panelists shared information on the drugs to an audience at Sage Living, including how they work, what unseen benefits they might have and possible side effects.
“GLP-1 medicines, they’re a metabolic tune-up,” Little said. “They’re not just a diet drug.”
The term GLP-1 stands for “glucagon-like peptide,” which is a type of hormone naturally excreted by the small intestine after eating a meal. The hormone helps regulate hunger and slows digestion. Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro mimic the effects of natural GLP-1.
“It’s kind of like your mechanic with a megaphone,” Little said. “Your mechanic that’s able to say ‘hey, brain, turn off the stomach signal. Hey, stomach, you need to feel full, so that I don’t want to eat anymore.’ ”
So-called “food noise” is a very real problem, Little said.
“It’s very hurtful and very harmful for people who are overweight or obese to be told that they just need to try harder,” Little said. “We don’t tell you your car is going slow because it is not trying hard enough. These medicines literally recalibrate your brain and the way that it thinks about food.”
Beyond losing weight, research suggests that GLP-1 medications may have other health benefits. Though the drugs were originally used to treat diabetes, one trial showed that a GLP-1 drug decreased the risk of death from heart attack or stroke for non-diabetic patients.
“The results were rather astounding,” Little said. “That’s huge. That’s hundreds of people in that group who did not have a heart attack or stroke.”
The drugs also aided liver and kidney health, Little said, adding that research was ongoing to determine the effects on other conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
The provider also clarified that there are currently two main types of GLP-1 drugs, semaglutide and tirzepatide, which are sold under a variety of brand names. More drugs that work similarly are in the approval pipeline, Little said, meaning the field could soon change.
GLP-1 drugs can come with side effects, including nausea, Little said. Sarah Peterson, a dietician and nutritionist at St. John’s Health, stressed that eating high-quality food is especially important, since people on the drugs tend to eat less overall.
Doing structured exercise before, during and after taking a GLP-1 is similarly crucial, since people on the drugs lose muscle as well as fat.
“We need to preserve every bit of muscle mass and bone density that we can,” physical therapist Nola Peacock said. “It’s easier to keep it than to bring it back.”
This story was published on Feb. 24, 2026.