October 16, 2023 – People at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes lost, on average, greater than 18% of their weight once they took the load loss drug tirzepatide, higher known by the brand name Mounjaro Weekend.
Including weight reduction through 12 weeks of weight loss program and exercise before starting the medication, researchers estimated that folks can lose 26.6% of their body weight, a median of greater than 60 kilos, in lower than two years. The results approach the load loss levels seen with some bariatric surgeries and are higher than those reported in studies for other breakthrough weight reduction drugs corresponding to Ozempic and Wegovy.
But nearly 18% of people that took part within the study didn't lose at the least 5% of their body weight through the weight loss program and exercise phase of the study and weren't eligible to proceed taking the medication. The authors noted that the standards could have inflated average weight reduction results because these “lifestyle nonresponders” weren't accounted for within the medication phase.
The Results The study was published within the journal on Sunday Natural medicine.
The medication phase lasted 17 months, during which the remaining 579 people within the study took either tirzepatide or a placebo. The average age of individuals within the drug phase was 46 years, 63% were women and 86% were white. On average, people met obesity criteria for 15 years before participating within the study.
The study only included individuals with one body mass index or BMI, of 30 or more, and the common takeoff weight was greater than 240 kilos. (BMI is a combined measure of weight and height that indicates whether you're chubby or obese.) To participate within the study, participants couldn't have diabetes but needed to have one other complication of weight problems corresponding to hypertension.
The researchers found that weight loss program and exercise typically don't end in weight reduction at the extent needed to scale back potentially life-threatening health risks corresponding to chubby and obesity. Even when people achieve significant weight reduction through weight loss program and exercise, most regain a couple of third of their weight inside a 12 months, the authors found.
During the 12-week weight loss program and exercise phase, study participants followed a calorie-restricted weight loss program, did 150 minutes of physical activity weekly, and attended counseling sessions.
The most typical unwanted side effects while taking the drug were digestive problems, “with most being mild to moderate in severity,” the study authors wrote.
Tirzepatide is analogous to a different well-known weight reduction drug called semaglutide, which is the energetic ingredient within the diabetes drug Ozempic and the load loss drug Wegovy. Semaglutide and tirzepatide mimic hormones naturally occurring within the body that regulate how the brain controls an individual's appetite.
Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy could be difficult to acquire attributable to supply shortages and price at the least $900 monthly or more if paid out of pocket.