Research
Hormonal
Older anti-obesity medications (orlistat, naltrexone/bupropion, phentermine/topiramate) produce modest weight loss (5-11%) and are less effective than newer GLP-1/GIP agonists.
Older weight-loss drugs like Orlistat produce modest weight loss (around 7%) and have significant gastrointestinal side effects. They are less effective than newer GLP-1 medications.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
To date, anti-obesity agents with various mechanisms of action have been developed, and mostly reduce energy intake, resulting in weight loss of about 5% to 10% compared to baseline.
Why this rating
Supported by clinical trials (XENDOS, COR-1, EQUIP).
Source
An Overview of Existing and Emerging Weight-Loss Drugs to Target Obesity-Related Complications: Insights from Clinical Trials
Mi-Kyung Kim et al. · Biomolecules & Therapeutics · 2024
DOI 10.4062/biomolther.2024.228
narrative_reviewCited 6×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide, liraglutide) and dual GLP-1/GIP agonists (tirzepatide) produce clinically significant weight loss (10-21%) and reduce obesity-related cardiovascular and metabolic complications.Strong
- Tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, produces greater weight loss (up to 21%) and superior body composition changes compared to other anti-obesity medications.Strong
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
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →