Virta Health, the leader in metabolic disease reversal, today released its 2026 Reversal Report: Metabolic Care in the GLP-1 Era with a striking finding: Virta members taking GLP-1s achieved substantially better results when medication was paired with the company’s AI-enabled, clinically supervised, personalized nutrition therapy. In a real-world analysis of more than 4,000 adults, those who followed the Virta Method™ achieved 37% greater weight loss after one year than those receiving standard GLP-1 care1, without Virta’s individualized nutrition counseling.

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Virta Health Reveals 37% Greater Weight Loss When GLP-1s are Paired with its AI-enabled Personalized Nutrition in annual Reversal Report

Virta Health Reveals 37% Greater Weight Loss When GLP-1s are Paired with its AI-enabled Personalized Nutrition in annual Reversal Report

As GLP-1 coverage expands, employers and health plans face growing pressure to make that investment count, seeking approaches associated with better, sustained results over time. Virta’s findings offer a clear answer by comparing two approaches within the same medication-supported care model.

“Plan sponsors are making a significant investment in GLP-1s, but access alone doesn’t guarantee better health or value. This year’s Reversal Report shows the opportunity to raise expectations for GLP-1 care,” said Amit Shah, President of Virta Health. “When nutrition is tailored to the individual, more people can reach the weight-loss and whole-body health milestones that matter to them. That’s why Virta members achieve close to 80% adherence to GLP-1s at one year2 which is more than double the industry average3.”

The New Standard of Care

Virta compared one-year member outcomes for two groups using GLP-1s for weight loss. Both received identical, provider-led care with one difference: one group also received AI-enabled, individualized nutrition counseling with the Virta Method. After one year, the analysis found:

  • Greater Weight Loss: Members following the Virta Method achieved 37% greater adjusted weight loss, nearly eight additional pounds.

  • More Members Reached Major Milestones: Nearly one in four members following the Virta Method lost at least 20% of their body weight after one year, a rate 58% higher than in the comparison group.

  • Stronger Results Across Medications: New GLP-1 users who followed the Virta Method and remained on tirzepatide for a year lost ~46 pounds in the adjusted analysis, with an observed average weight loss of ~20%. Virta Method’s weight-loss advantage also applied to members taking semaglutide.

“These are meaningful real-world differences, not small changes at the margins,” said Barbara A. Gower, PhD, senior author of the study. “The analysis proves that GLP-1 treatment can be significantly more effective when patients also receive individualized nutrition emphasizing carbohydrate reduction and continuous clinical care which adds metabolic and endocrine benefits to the GLP-1 therapy.”

Previous data also shows Virta members who received Virta’s individualized nutrition therapy sustained on average 85% of their weight loss at one year post GLP-1 discontinuation4.

Better Metabolic Health Doesn’t Stop at Weight

Virta is raising expectations for what metabolic care can achieve with nutrition. The company’s published library of peer-reviewed research now consists of significant findings spanning the heart, kidneys, liver, oncology, and inflammation, demonstrating the company’s impact on whole body health with the Virta Method, and without prescribing GLP-1s.

  • Heart: Virta participants had a 56% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or death than people receiving usual care.

  • Kidneys: Virta participants had a 36% lower risk of a new chronic kidney disease diagnosis and a 62% lower risk of reaching stage 4 disease.

  • Liver: Virta members experienced 45% to 75% lower rates of serious liver disease and complications.

  • Stage IV pancreatic cancer: Virta’s nutrition based care extends survival by 34% when paired alongside chemotherapy

  • Inflammation: 90% of inflammatory and immune markers improved (19 of 21) after one year of Virta care, with improvements largely sustained at two years.

Read the full 2026 Reversal Report, available at: https://report.virtahealth.com

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1-2 2026 Reversal Report:

Athinarayanan S, Zoller AR, Bergethon KE, Goss AM, Gower BA. Real-world twelve-month weight loss outcomes in a comprehensive obesity care program utilizing individualized nutrition therapy and incretin-based obesity medications. medRxiv. doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.09.26365158

3 Gleason PP, Urick BY, Marshall LZ, Friedlander N, Qiu Y, Leslie RS. Real-world persistence and adherence to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists among obese commercially insured adults without diabetes. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2024;30(8):860-867. doi:10.18553/jmcp.2024.23332

4 McKenzie AL, Athinarayanan SJ. Impact of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Agonist Deprescription in Type 2 Diabetes in a Real-World Setting: A Propensity Score Matched Cohort Study. Diabetes Ther. 2024;15(4):843-853. doi:10.1007/s13300-024-01547-0

About Virta Health

Virta Health is the leader in reversing metabolic disease. Through their AI-powered platform, Virta combines personalized nutrition, GLP-1 optimization, and clinical support to deliver metabolic care at scale. Virta partners with the nation’s largest employers, payers, and pharmacy benefit managers to help members live longer, healthier lives, while reducing or eliminating the need for medications. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Virta is on a mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people. For more information, visit www.virtahealth.com.

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