Research
Hormonal
Tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist, produces superior total body weight loss (up to 20.9% at 72 weeks) compared to placebo and other anti-obesity medications.
Tirzepatide is a highly effective weekly injection for obesity, achieving nearly 21% weight loss in clinical trials. It works by mimicking hormones that regulate hunger and digestion. While effective, it requires weekly injections and can cause gastrointestinal side effects like nausea.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
SURMOUNT-1 (72 weeks): 15 mg: 20.9% weight loss vs 3.1% with placebo
Why this rating
Supported by Phase 3 trials (SURMOUNT-1).
Source
Pharmacotherapy for Obesity: Recent Updates
Thomas W. Fredrick et al. · Clinical Pharmacology Advances and Applications · 2025
DOI 10.2147/cpaa.s497904
narrative_review
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, produces significant weight loss (up to 15.8% at 68 weeks) and improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes.Strong
- Orlistat, an anti-absorptive medication, produces modest weight loss (2.8-4.8% total body weight loss) by inhibiting gastric and pancreatic lipase.Good
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