As we head out of Thanksgiving feasting and into the end of year holiday celebrations, many Americans may take comfort knowing that there are a number of new weight loss medications on the market demonstrating significant results.
The latest results of a large study comparing real world results of semaglutide vs. tirzepatide were released this week in which more than 40,000 patients were tracked over the course of an entire year. The study is significant in the size of the cohort and the amount of real world data collected.
According to the study, both tirzepatide and semaglutide have been shown to reduce weight for patients with overweight or obesity in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). While tirzepatide appears to provide greater weight loss than semaglutide in this population, head-to-head RCTs are not yet available. Accordingly, we sought to compare on-treatment weight loss in a real-world setting for adults with overweight or obesity initiated on tirzepatide or semaglutide.
The average patient started at 240 pounds, and weight levels were tracked at 3 month, 6 month and 12 month intervals. While both medications led to measurable weight loss, tirzepatide demonstrated better results at 6 month and 12 month intervals, especially among participants without type-2 diabetes. Additional studies are underway focusing on obesity and will be released towards the end of 2024.
