Table 1

- Characteristics of the studies included in this scoping review.

Authors	Countries	Study designs	Sample sizes	Female (%)	Age (yrs)	Population/diagnosis	Anti-obesity medication (intervention)	Duration of intervention (months)	Route of AOM administration	Dosage of AOM	Frequency of AOM	Primary outcome(s)	Risk of bias (RoB)
Non-randomized studies (n=53)
Bashier et al³²	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	54	74.0%	50.6±11.1	Adult/T2DM	Exenatide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.005-0.01 mg	Twice daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Bashier et al³³	UAE	Prospective cohort study	463	71.0%	50.4±10.0	Adult/T2DM	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Mosli et al³⁴	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	108	71.3%	33.7±9.1	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and BMI)	Low
Alharbi et al²⁵	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	45	-	51.5±12.9	Adult/T2DM	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-1.8 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c and BP)	N/A^‡
Shaghouli et al²¹	Kuwait	Retrospective case series	-	-	-	Adult/T2DM	Liraglutide	15.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW)	N/A^‡
Elhag et al⁶⁸	Qatar	Retrospective cohort study	129	86.0%	42.9±10.4	Adult/obesity	Lorcaserin & phentermine	3.0	Oral	Lorcaserin: 10 mg; phentermine: 37.5 mg	Lorcaserin: twice daily; phentermine: once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, and weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Allum et al²⁰	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	41	70.7%	37.6±8.1	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Liraglutide	≥4.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and BMI)	N/A^‡
Almarshad et al⁶⁹	Saudi Arabia	Case report	1	0.0%	35	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	1.5	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and BMI)	High
Albarkah et al³⁵	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	38	55.2%	50.6±10.8	Adult/T2DM	Liraglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c and BP)	High
Buckley et al³⁶	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	322	-	-	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	13.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Suliman et al³⁷	UAE	Prospective cohort study	2,092	75.0%	38^*	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	≥4.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Al Hayek et al³⁸	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	71	53.1%	48.7±10^†	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Patient satisfaction	High
Khedr et al³⁹	Egypt	Pilot of non-randomized controlled trial	160	50.0%	46.4±5.9	Adult/obesity	Orlistat	2.0	Oral	120 mg	Twice daily for 30 days, followed by once daily for 30 days	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW)	Moderate
Allum et al²⁶	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	90	65.6%	40±13.5^†	Adult/obesity	NB	3.0	Oral	8/90 mg	Start with once daily, increasing weekly to 4 times daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW)	N/A^‡
Non-randomized studies (n=53)
Aboddy et al⁴⁰	Iraq	Retrospective cohort study	117	81.1%	-	Adult/obesity	Metformin, Orlistat	4.0	Oral	500 mg	3 time daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI and weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Alshahrani et al³⁰	Saudi Arabia	Cross-sectional study	404	28.2%	-	Adult/obesity	Non-prescribed weight reduction products	-	-	-	-	Assess the relationship between BMI and weight reduction products, specifically focusing on the perceptions and usage patterns of non-prescribed WRPs	N/A^‡
Alrowais et al⁷⁰	Saudi Arabia	Cross-sectional study	68	54.4%	54.4±9.5	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Liraglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-1.8 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and BMI)	High
Albaker et al⁷¹	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	258	87.0%	37.8±1.0	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	≥4	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW)	Moderate
Hussein et al⁴¹	Egypt	Non-randomized controlled trial	100	100.0%	37.7±11.8	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI, WC, and WHR)	Moderate
Suliman et al²²	UAE	Prospective cohort study	787	75.0%	38.0^*	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	≥4	-	-	-	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %)	N/A^‡
Rahmah et al⁴²	Iraq	Retrospective cohort study	27	48.1%	48±9.2†	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Liraglutide	7.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Aleidi et al⁴³	Saudi Arabia, Jordan	Prospective cohort study	101	61.5%	45.3±10.5	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Metformin	≥6.0	Oral	500 mg	3 times daily	Metabolic changes of long-term use of metformin (Metabolite dysregulation)	Moderate
Moujaes et al⁴⁶	Lebanon	Retrospective cohort study	100	80.0%	41.9±12.5	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and WC)	Moderate
Elhag et al⁴⁴	Qatar	Retrospective cohort study	145	82.8%	43.3±10.5	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Liraglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI and weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Alanazi et al⁴⁵	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	200	40.0%	53±0.96†	Adult/T2DM	Orlistat	6.0	Oral	120 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (Lipid panel and BP)	Moderate
Jamal et al²⁸	Kuwait	Retrospective cohort study	89	-	-	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Semaglutide	3.0	-	-	-	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, and weight loss proportion %)	N/A^‡
Alshehri et al⁷²	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	399	74.4%	46.4±12.1	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Jamal et al⁶⁰	Kuwait	Retrospective cohort study	57	73.7%	36.7±7.3	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW and weight loss proportion %)	Moderate
Non-randomized studies (n=53)
Ajabnoor et al⁴⁷	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	72	61.0%	55±8.32^†	Adult/T2DM	Liraglutide or Semaglutide	≥6.0	Subcutaneous	Semaglutide: ≥0.25 mg & liraglutide: 0.6-3.0 mg	Semaglutide: once weekly & liraglutide: once daily dose	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Alfadda et al²⁹	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	28	64.0%	36±11.6	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c); effect on CAP score	N/A^‡
Allum et al²⁷	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	87	76.0%	39.7^*	Adult/obesity	Semaglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	Average dose: ≥0.5 mg	Once weekly	Effect on anthropometric parameters (weight loss proportion %)	N/A^‡
Mawardi et al⁴⁸	Saudi Arabia	Case series	3	100.0%	34±4.8	Adult/obesity	Semaglutide	1.5, 3.0, 4.0	Subcutaneous	Average dose: 0.5 mg	Once weekly	Possible association with secondary xerostomia	High
Farooqi et al⁴⁹	UAE	Case report	1	100.0%	20	Adult/obesity	Tirzepatide	1.5	Subcutaneous	2.5-7.5 mg	Once weekly	Possible association with developing DVT	High
Alidrisi et al⁵⁰	Iraq	Prospective cohort study	55	60.0%	46.5±8.7	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-1.2 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Buckley et al⁵¹	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	3,686	59.2%	54.1±11.5	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Tirzepatide	10.0	Subcutaneous	2.5-12.5 mg	Once weekly	Effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Alorayyidh et al²³	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	19	-	-	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	13.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Influence of GLP-1 on liking behavior	N/A^‡
Shaghouli et al²⁴	Kuwait	Prospective cohort study	91	78.0%	43*	Adult/obesity	Semaglutide	3.0	Oral		Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, and weight loss proportion %)	N/A‡
Alghamdi et al⁷³	Saudi Arabia	Case report	1	100.0%	29	Adult/obesity	Semaglutide & dulaglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	Semaglutide: Average dose: 0.5 then 1.0 mg & dulaglutide: 1.5 mg	Once weekly	Possible association with developing autoimmune-like hepatitis and cholelithiasis	High
Hussein et al⁵²	Saudi Arabia	Cross-sectional study	96	100.0%	-	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide, semaglutide, and orlistat		Subcutaneous/oral	Liraglutide: 6 mg; semaglutide: 1 mg; orlistat: 120 mg	Liraglutide: once daily, semaglutide: once weekly, and orlistat: once daily	Frequent use of anti-obesity medication and herbal mixtures among college students	High
Khalaf et al⁵³	Saudi Arabia	Cross-sectional study	361	38.5%	28±11.9	Adult/PHC visitors						Evaluate knowledge, perception, and prevalence of anti-obesity medications usage among PHC visitors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	High
Alfadda et al⁵⁴	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	23	65.0%	36±10.9	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect in the plasma metabolome	High
Masood et al⁵⁵	Saudi Arabia	Prospective cohort study	20	-	36±11.1	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect in the plasma metabolome	Moderate
Gad et al⁵⁶	Egypt	Non-randomized controlled trial	180	48.0%	47.3±6.0	Adult/T2DM, obesity, MASLD	Semaglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous: ozempic; oral: rybelsus	Ozempic: average 0.25-2.0 mg; rybelsus: 3.0 mg with titration	Ozempic: once weekly; rybelsus: once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (LFT, and Lipid profile); effect on liver fibrosis parameters	Moderate
Non-randomized studies (n=53)
Albahli et al⁵⁷	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	102	55.2%	60.4±8.8	Adult/T2DM, dyslipidemia	Dulaglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	1.5 mg	Once weekly	Effect on some cardiometabolic indices (triglycerides and LDL-C levels)	High
Albargawi et al⁵⁸	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	205	77.4%	52±10.9	Adult/T2DM	Dulaglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	1.5 mg	Once weekly	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, and BMI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	High
Alenzi et al⁵⁹	Saudi Arabia	Retrospective cohort study	363	50.4%	52.6±8.0	Adult/T2DM, obesity	Semaglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	Average dose: 0.5 or 1.0 mg	Once weekly	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, and BMI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
El-Mezayen et al⁷⁸	Egypt	Cross-sectional study	462	98.4%	-	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide, orlistat, metformin					Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI) during COVID-19 pandemic	High
Alshahawey et al³¹	Egypt	Cost effectiveness analysis	-	-	-	Adult/obesity	Semaglutide/liraglutide	17.0	Subcutaneous	Semaglutide: 2.4 mg; Liraglutide: 3.0 mg	Semaglutide: once weekly; Liraglutide: once daily	Compare the cost and clinical outcomes of semaglutide vs. liraglutide on weight loss in people with overweight and obesity	N/A^§
Jamal et al⁶¹	Kuwait	Retrospective cohort study	115	80.9%	38.8±10.4	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Semaglutide or tirzepatide	6.0	Subcutaneous	Semaglutide: 0.25 mg; Tirzepatide: 2.5 mg	Weekly, increasing dose regimen	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, and weight loss proportion %)	High
Abdelmannan et al⁶²	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	338	58.0%	57.0±9.3	Adult/T2DM	Exenatide, liraglutide, and dulaglutide	12.0	Subcutaneous	Exenatide: 2 mg; Liraglutide: 1.8 mg, Dulaglutide: 1.5 mg	Exenatide: once weekly; Liraglutide: once daily; Dulaglutide: once weekly	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW); effect on cardiometabolic indices (HbA1c)	Moderate
Al Ghareeb et al⁷⁴	Saudi Arabia	Case report	1	100.0%	38	Adult/obesity	Liraglutide	3.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, and weight loss proportion %)	High
Zakaria et al⁶³	UAE	Retrospective cohort study	115	60.0%	43.1±9.9	Adult/obesity, prediabetes	Semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide,	6.0	Subcutaneous	Semaglutide: 0.25-1.0 mg; Liraglutide: 6.0 mg; Tirzepatide: 2.5-7.0 or 10.0 mg	Semaglutide: once weekly; Liraglutide: once daily; Tirzepatide: once weekly	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, weight loss proportion %, fat mass, and skeletal muscle mass)	High
Iqbal et al⁶⁴	Kuwait	Case report	1	100.0%	21	Adult/obesity	Tirzepatide	0.75	Subcutaneous	5.0 mg	Once weekly	Possible association with developing ketoacidosis in non-diabetic adults	High
Randomized controlled trials (n=6)
Al-Kuraishy et al⁶⁵	Iraq	Randomized controlled trial	99	0.0%	41.5±2.9	Adult/obesity	Orlistat	3.0	Oral	120 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI, visceral adiposity index); effect on cardiometabolic indices (lipid panel, BP, blood glucose)	High
Randomized controlled trials (n=6)
Aziz et al⁷⁵	Iraq	Pilot of randomized controlled trial	50	76.5%	44.9±8.7	Adult/metabolic syndrome	Metformin	3.0	Oral	500 mg	3 times daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI, WC, VAI); effect on cardiometabolic indices (glycemic status, HbA1c, insulin resistance, lipid profile, LFT, kidney function)	High
Esmail et al⁶⁶	Iraq	Randomized controlled trial	50	70.0%	43.2±9.1	Adult/NAFLD	Orlistat	3.0	Oral	120 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (BMI, waist circumference, waist to height ratio, ABSI, ABF)	High
Aljamal et al⁷⁶	Jordan	Randomized controlled trial	60	0.0%	-	Adult/Obesity	Orlistat	1.0	Oral	120 mg	Once daily	Effect on cardiometabolic indices (lipid panel, BP, blood glucose)	High
Aiad et al⁷⁷	Egypt	Randomized controlled trial	60	88.0%	51.6±5.9	Adult/obesity, osteoarthritis	Metformin	3.0	Oral	500 mg	Twice daily	Effect on serum levels of cartilage biomarkers (COMP, CTX-1, and IL-1b); effect on WOMAC score (pain, stiffness, functionality)	Low
Hany et al⁶⁷	Egypt	Randomized controlled trial	80	71.0%	37.7±10.9	Adult/obesity undergone bariatric surgery	Liraglutide	6.0	Subcutaneous	0.6-3.0 mg	Once daily	Effect on anthropometric parameters (TBW, BMI, and weight loss proportion %)

ABSI: a body shape index, BMI: body mass index, BP: blood pressure, CAP: controlled attenuation parameter, COMP: cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019, CTX-1: C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, GLP-1: glucagon-like peptide-1, HbA1c: hemoglobin A1c, IL-1b: interleukin-1 beta, LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LFT: liver function test, MASLD: metabolic dysfunction - associated steatotic liver disease, NAFLD: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, PHC: primary healthcare center, RoB: risk of bias, TBW: total body weight, UAE: United Arab Emirates, VAI: visceral adiposity index, WC: waist circumference, WHR: waist-to-hip ratio, WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, WRPs: weight-reduction products

↵* Reported as the mean with no standard deviation.
↵^† These values are estimated on the basis of the data provided in the source studies, as the specific statistic was not explicitly reported.
↵^‡ RoB assessment not applicable; studies available only as abstracts.
↵^§ Standard RoB assessment not applicable to this economic analysis - indicates unavailable data.