- A new study finds adding Mounjaro to diet and exercise changes may help people lose additional weight compared to those who made just lifestyle changes alone.
- The study took place over 19 months.
- The trial adds to existing evidence demonstrating that Mounjaro is an effective anti-obesity medication.
A new study found that tirzepatide known by its brand name Mounjaro, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug used to treat diabetes, can propel weight loss in people who’ve achieved weight loss with healthy lifestyle changes.
The
Participants who took Mounjaro — in addition to making diet and physical activity changes — lost, on average, 64lbs in roughly 19 months compared to people who took a placebo, according to the study, which published in the journal Nature Medicine Monday.
The findings were also presented at during the 41st Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society at ObesityWeek® 2023 hosted between October 14 and 17.
The trial adds to existing evidence demonstrating that Mounjaro, which facilitates weight loss by reducing appetite and slowing stomach emptying, is an effective anti-obesity medication.
According to Dr. Dan Azagury, FACS, an associate professor of surgery at Stanford Healthcare, because obesity is a multi-factorial disease, one weight-loss intervention is often not enough to help many people with obesity achieve the weight loss they are hoping for.
Each therapy will reach a maximum effect, at which point the weight loss will stop and an additional intervention may be needed to resume weight reduction.
“This is what happened with lifestyle changes, followed by tirzepatide in this study,” Azagury said.
The researchers investigated whether people who lost at least 5% of their initial body weight during 12 weeks of intensive lifestyle intervention could achieve further health benefits with Mounjaro, second author of the paper Ariana Chao, PhD, MSN, RN , a faculty associate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, explained to Healthline.
The study included 579 individuals with a body mass index ≥30 or ≥27 kg/m2 and at least one obesity-related complication, excluding diabetes.
The participants were split into two groups: 287 who took Mounjaro (10 or 15 milligrams) administered once weekly subcutaneously and 292 who took a placebo for 72 weeks, which is about 16.5 months.
The researchers found that people who received Mounjaro lost and additional 18.4% of body weight, while those in the placebo group gained 2.5% body weight. Those who took Mounjaro lost an additional 47lbs on average over 72 weeks. This amounted to a total weight reduction of, on average, about 64 pounds during the 84-week trial.
The weight loss achieved by Mounjaro combined with an intensive lifestyle intervention, was similar to the weight reduction that’s achieved via sleeve gastrectomy, a common type of bariatric surgery.
Mounjaro-treated patients achieved further health improvements in waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood sugar, lipid levels, and self-reported physical functioning, Chao said.
According to Dr. Mir Ali, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, cardiometabolic factors like improved blood pressure and cholesterol are benefits of the significant weight loss and not necessarily directly due to the medication.
The goal of weight loss is not simply shedding pounds.
“While that is a good outcome, the goal is for our patients to live longer, healthier lives,” Azagury said.
Discover more about this condition
While some people respond well to bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, response rates vary, and weight regain can occur in others.
Consequently, it’s crucial to have multiple treatment options available to customize treatment plans to each patient’s medical specificities, personal history, and preferences, says Azagury.
Many people will require more than one modality to achieve weight reduction.
“It’s more an ‘and’ than an ‘or,’” said Azagury.
For example, Mounjaro with lifestyle changes may be most useful for people with a lower BMI, whereas people with a higher BMI will likely require multiple treatments, Azagury added.
The goal of weight-loss interventions is, ultimately, to help patients change to a healthier lifestyle and diet, according to Ali.
“Medications, surgery, and other interventions are most effective when patients make long-term changes to their diet and lifestyle,” says Ali.
The study also suggests that Mounjaro may help some people adhere to lifestyle changes.
Some people may not be able to lose weight with lifestyle changes alone, which can make it difficult to stick with the modifications.
“Now imagine doing the same effort you’ve tried 5 times before, but this time you see the weight drop, now that’s encouraging, that will allow you to keep pushing,” explains Azagury.
A new report found that tirzepatide known by the brand name Mounjaro can propel weight loss in people who’ve achieved weight loss with healthy lifestyle changes. The trial adds to existing evidence demonstrating that tirzepatide, which facilitates weight loss by reducing appetite and slowing stomach emptying, is an effective anti-obesity medication.