Hormonal
GLP-1 and dual/triple agonist therapies (semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide) produce double-digit mean weight loss (15-24%) in clinical trials, significantly exceeding older pharmacotherapies.
If you have obesity, newer GLP-1 or dual/triple agonist medications can help you lose 15-20% of your body weight, which is significantly more than older drugs. These are taken as weekly injections (or soon, oral pills). You must discuss insurance coverage and potential side effects like nausea with your doctor, as cost and access are major hurdles.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide have set new expectations for average weight loss in randomized trials... In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide led to a 15%-21% loss at 72 weeks... Phase 2 data show very large mean losses (20%-24% at 48 weeks at higher doses) with broad metabolic gains [retatrutide].
Why this rating
Based on large-scale Phase 3 randomized controlled trials (STEP 1, SURMOUNT-1, Phase 2 Retatrutide).
Source
Medical Management of Obesity: A Comprehensive Review of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-Approved and Investigational Therapies
Syed S Raza et al. · Cureus · 2025
DOI 10.7759/cureus.96739
More from this paper
- GLP-1 based therapies carry class-wide safety warnings including gastrointestinal effects, gallbladder events, pancreatitis risk, and a boxed warning for medullary thyroid carcinoma based on rodent data.Strong
- Access to effective obesity pharmacotherapy is severely limited by cost, insurance prior authorization, and systemic inequities, leading to high discontinuation rates.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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