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Tirzepatide is more effective than semaglutide for weight loss, according to a new study on GLP-1 medications
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The study was funded by Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures tirzepatide, so “take that with a grain of salt,” one expert said
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Tirzepatide, which reduces appetite and improves how the body breaks down sugar and fat, is marketed under the names Zepbound (to treat weight loss) and Mounjaro (to treat type 2 diabetes)
Zepbound — the brand name for tirzepatide — is the most effective GLP-1 medication for weight loss, according to one study.
According to research published May 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study involved 751 people with obesity but not diabetes. “Treatment with tirzepatide was superior to treatment with semaglutide with respect to reduction in body weight and waist circumference at week 72,” the study said.
Tirzepatide is marketed under the name Zepbound to treat obesity and is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, which funded the study. That prompted Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, to say on CBS Mornings Plus: “You always need to take that with a grain of salt.”
However, Gounder also told the outlet the research “does look legit, and we have seen hints of this in other studies.”
Taken by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm, tirzepatide reduces appetite and improves how the body breaks down sugar and fat, while semaglutide works in the brain to impact satiety.
The study found that tirzepatide users lost about 20% of their body weight over a 72-week period, while people using semaglutide — commonly marketed under the brand names Ozempic (where it’s approved to treat diabetes) and Wegovy (to treat obesity) — lost about 14%.
Shelby Knowles/Bloomberg/Getty
Stock image of a Zepbound shot being self-administered.
“That translates to about a difference of eight pounds on average between the two drugs,” Gounder told the outlet.
Tirzepatide is also marketed under the brand name Mounjaro and is FDA-approved to treat Type 2 diabetes.
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