The new weight loss drug may be as effective as Bariatric surgery, but…

Key findings:

• A giant pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly released a new study report on their diabetes drug, Tirzepatide (commercial name “Mounjaro”).¹
• Tirzepatide mimics glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) satiety hormone and includes another hormone to boost the effect.
• It is unknown how exactly these GLP-1 agonists help lose weight, but scientists believe that it makes you feel full and less hungry.
• In the previous phase III trial (SURMOUNT-1)², subjects with BMI over 30 lost up to 21% of their weight. And 36% of them taking a higher dose lost even 25% or more of their weight. This is as effective as weight loss after a bariatric surgery.
• This new clinical trial (SURMOUNT-2)³ showed weight loss of up to 15.7% among people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• With these new results, the company is waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration’s for Tirzepatide for weight management     even without diabetes, with the potential for approval by the end of year.    

 But, ...

• You might say, “just work out and eat less”. However, losing weight is not so easy. On average, 42% of all adults actively try to lose their weight and 23% try to maintain it.⁴ But, as many as 65% of them fail. Even if you effectively lost the weight, 50% of people regain it within 2 years, more than 80% regain it within 5 years.⁵
• Why? Because obesity is a complex problem of your genetics and the balance of nutrient absorption and energy consumption (“homeostasis”). It is not just losing some fat, but it is about training your body’s system over time.
• These drugs affect your endocrine systems, but the exact mechanism of this drug is unknown.
• The price of these drugs is also a problem, similar drugs (“Ozempic” and “Wegovy”) are selling at 1,180 US dollars per month. It won’t be accessible to everyone.
• It would be rather safer and cost-effective if you prevent obesity from happening before the equilibrium (“homeostasis”) is broken.⁶

Find out more:

• Using myDigitalTwin, you can find out if your body can naturally create the satiety hormone well and if you are more prone to obesity than others.
• The myDigitalTwin platform is designed to help you manage your health goals (including “weight loss”) over the long run.

Sources:

1. “Eli Lilly releases more data for new obesity drug, moving toward fast-track approval”. Apr 27, 2023. The npr.     https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/27/1172365791/eli-lilly-releases-more-data-for-new-obesity-drug-moving-toward-fast-track-appro
2. Venniyoor A. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2022;387(15):1433-1434. doi:10.1056/NEJMc2211120
3. https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-tirzepatide-achieved-157-weight-loss-adults-obesity-or
4. Santos I, Sniehotta FF, Marques MM, Carraça EV, Teixeira PJ. Prevalence of personal weight control attempts in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2017;18(1):32-50. doi:10.1111/obr.12466
5. Hall KD, Kahan S. Maintenance of Lost Weight and Long-Term Management of Obesity. Med Clin North Am. 2018;102(1):183-197.     doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2017.08.012
6. Marks DF. Homeostatic theory of obesity. Health Psychol Open. 2015;2(1):2055102915590692. Published 2015 Jun 29.     doi:10.1177/2055102915590692