An increasing number of Americans are turning to medications to help them lose weight, but there is still a lot to be learned about the effectiveness of the drugs.
In a study by Truveta Inc. published Monday in JAMA, patients who used tirzepatide, which has the label name Mounjaro, saw more significant weight loss than those who used semaglutide, which has the label name Ozempic. Both medications are considered GLP-1 agonists and were originally labeled for diabetes treatments.
Ozempic is currently Food and Drug Administration-approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and lower certain patients' cardiovascular risk. Mounjaro was approved late in 2023 by the FDA to treat obesity.
Both medications, along with several others, have garnered significant attention for lowering people's body weight.
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, these drugs help manage blood sugar levels by triggering insulin release from the pancreas. The drugs also help slow digestion, which causes less glucose to enter the bloodstream. The medicine also affects satiety, allowing patients to feel full after eating, the Cleveland Clinic said.
Between May 2022 and September 2023, participants using Mounjaro were 2.5 times more likely to achieve 10% weight loss, and 3.2 times more likely to achieve 15% weight loss, than those using Ozempic.
The study also found that those using Mounjaro were more likely to achieve faster weight loss results than those on Ozempic.
After one year of use, those on Mounjaro on average lost 15.3%, while those on Ozempic lost an average of 8.3%.
“GLP-1 medications have dramatically increased in use by patients with and without type 2 diabetes in the past year, yet little real-world data exist to compare the effectiveness of two of the most common medications, semaglutide and tirzepatide,” said study lead author Tricia Rodriguez. “That’s what makes today’s study findings so exciting and important."
