New Delhi, July 27 -- WHAT HAPPENS after you lose weight? Doctors tell patients to expect better mobility and less stress on their joints. Metabolic measures, such as blood sugar and cholesterol, improve. People report more energy and better sleep. But these health markers are just one part of what economists call the "obesity penalty". Studies have long shown that people, especially women, who carry extra weight tend to finish their formal education sooner and are less likely to marry or work. The sudden weight loss experienced by millions of Americans with GLP-1 drugs offers a rare chance to study how much of that penalty disappears when people become slimmer.

Some 22% of American women and 14% of men have taken GLP-1s for weight loss ...