Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it will pursue a joint study with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), affiliated with Harvard Medical School, to track physical changes in patients taking GLP-1-class obesity drugs using the Galaxy Watch. GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) is a treatment that mimics a hormone secreted in the gut after meals to help regulate blood sugar and suppress appetite.

As GLP-1 treatments spread in weight management and chronic disease care, managing changes in muscle mass and physical activity during treatment is emerging as a task. MGH's Diabetes Research Center first proposed the joint study to Samsung Electronics, focusing on wearable devices' body composition measurement functions.

The study uses the BioActive Sensor built into the Galaxy Watch8. The sensor integrates three types into a single chipset: an optical heart rate sensor (PPG), an electrocardiogram sensor (ECG) and a bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA). Samsung Electronics has included it since the Galaxy Watch4 released in 2021. The study focuses on exploring whether daily data, including body composition, activity levels and heart rate, can help manage muscle loss in GLP-1 treatment patients.

The study divides 100 adults starting weight-loss drug treatment into two groups. The test group will wear the Galaxy Watch8 and receive body composition monitoring, physical activity tracking and personalised exercise guidance. The standard group will follow only general GLP-1 treatment guidelines. To ensure accuracy of results, researchers will also track changes in both groups using DXA scans, a standard device for body composition analysis. The plan is to confirm whether the Galaxy Watch8 group improves in preserving muscle mass.

Melissa Putman (멜리사 풋먼), head of MGH's Diabetes Research Center overseeing the study, explained that many GLP-1 patients struggle with the common side effect of reduced muscle mass, which can increase cardiovascular disease risk and lower basal metabolic rate, potentially leading to future weight regain.

Putman said that if patients use wearable devices to carry out personalised exercise in daily life and accumulate data such as activity levels, heart rate and body composition, medical staff can also gain a more comprehensive understanding of patients' health through the data. She said the study is meaningful in exploring whether wearables can help establish timely treatment plans.

Jongmin Choi (최종민), an executive director in the Digital Health Team at Samsung Electronics' MX Business, said the collaboration focuses on muscle loss and lifestyle management that real patients face while taking GLP-1-class drugs for weight management. He said it is a representative example showing Samsung Electronics' efforts to provide comprehensive and preventive health management solutions through Galaxy Watch functions.

Samsung Electronics is also continuing to expand cooperation with major medical institutions. In a joint study this month with Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, it demonstrated that the Galaxy Watch can predict vasovagal syncope (VVS) early with high accuracy. Last year, it worked with Stanford University in the United States to advance a sleep apnea detection solution. Samsung Electronics plans to verify through this study how the Galaxy Watch can contribute to daily health management linked to drug treatment, the company said.