Research
Hormonal
Semaglutide (2.4 mg) is the most cost-effective and clinically effective pharmacological intervention for obesity treatment compared to other FDA-approved medications and lifestyle interventions.
For adults with obesity, Semaglutide (2.4 mg weekly) combined with diet and exercise is currently the most effective and economically favorable medication option available, outperforming older drugs like Orlistat in most healthcare settings.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The review of articles showed that 60% of the articles were conducted in the United States of America... Among the reviewed studies, semaglutide was found to be the most cost‑effective and clinically effective drug in most scenarios.
Why this rating
Based on a systematic review of 15 economic evaluations using Markov models and ICERs, though context-dependent.
Source
Economic Evaluation of Medications in Prevention and Treatment of Obesity: A Systematic Review
Somaye Afshari et al. · International Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2025
DOI 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_368_24
systematic_review
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Tirzepatide demonstrates high clinical efficacy but has a higher Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), making its cost-effectiveness context-dependent.Good
- Phentermine-topiramate (Qysmia) offers acceptable cost-effectiveness, particularly in low-resource settings, making it a practical alternative to more expensive drugs.Good
- Orlistat is an affordable option with lower effectiveness, making it a practical alternative in resource-limited settings.Good
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
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