Hormonal
Chronic pharmacotherapy with GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide 2.4 mg) and dual agonists (tirzepatide 10-15 mg) produces significantly greater and more sustained weight loss than behavioral interventions alone by neutralizing counter-regulatory physiological mechanisms.
If you have obesity, lifestyle changes alone often fail long-term because your body fights back by increasing hunger hormones. New medications like semaglutide (weekly injection) or tirzepatide (weekly injection) work by overriding this biological defense, allowing for significantly greater weight loss (often >15%) than diet and exercise alone. These are intended for chronic use to maintain results.
Second-generation AOMs produce weight losses that are larger and more sustained than behavioral obesity treatment (18). These AOMs appear to neutralize the powerful counter-regulatory mechanisms that occur in a weight-reduced state.
Why this rating
Based on multiple large-scale Phase 3 RCTs (STEP 1-5, SURMOUNT 1-4) with consistent, high-magnitude results.
Source
Evolving Approaches for Pharmacological Therapy of Obesity
Ariana M. Chao et al. · The Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology · 2024
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