A1C (glycated hemoglobin)
What a GLP-1 receptor agonist actually does: which receptors it reaches, how it slows gastric emptying, and the satiety pathway it runs through.
What is A1C (glycated hemoglobin)?
Glycated hemoglobin: average blood glucose over the prior 8–12 weeks, read as the percentage of hemoglobin glycated by glucose.
≥6.5% is diabetes, 5.7–6.4% prediabetes, under 5.7% normal. GLP-1s typically drop it 1.0–2.0 points at full dose, and in the UKPDS observational analysis each 1-point lower A1C went with about a 37% lower risk of microvascular complications.
GLP Watchdog writes these definitions from FDA labels and peer-reviewed PubMed literature.
Where A1C (glycated hemoglobin) comes up on this site
On GLP Watchdog, A1C comes up in 3 research articles.
Other terms under Mechanism
- GLP-1 receptor
- GIP receptor
- Dual agonist
- Gastric emptying
- Food noise
- Triple agonist
- Amylin
- GLP-1 tachyphylaxis
- Non-peptide GLP-1 agonist
- MASH / MASLD
- TBWL (Total Body Weight Loss)
- C-peptide
- eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate)
- Visceral adipose tissue (VAT)
- AHI (apnea-hypopnea index)
- SNAC (oral semaglutide absorption enhancer)
Where the evidence lives
- The full GLP-1 glossary (150 terms, 8 categories)
- Research articles — written from primary sources
- Tools and calculators
- Compare GLP-1 telehealth providers