This drug led to 50% more weight loss than Wegovy in head-to-head study

Deciding which jab to nab?

When it comes to shedding pounds and cinching inches, a new study puts one weight loss drug ahead of another.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study followed 751 obese Americans to test the efficacy and safety of two leading weight loss drugs.

Participants, none of whom are diabetic, were given weekly injections of either Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s obesity drug, or Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.

Both medications contribute to weight loss by mimicking appetite-regulating hormones. Zepbound targets two hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, while Wegovy targets only GLP-1.

A staggering 1 in 8 adults in the US have used a GLP-1.

After 72 weeks, participants receiving the Zepbound injections lost an average of 50 pounds, or 20% of their body weight. In contrast, Weogovy users lost an average of 33 pounds or 14% of their body weight.

In terms of waist size, Zepbound users lost an average of 7 inches, compared to 5 inches with Wegovy.

Nearly 32% of Zepbound users ultimately lost at least a quarter of their body weight, compared with just 16% of Wegovy users.

In both groups, weight loss was about 6% lower in men than in women.

These findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain.

Roughly 75% of participants in both groups reported mild to moderate stomach issues.

A recent report found that more than 30% of GLP-1 patients drop the meds after just four weeks because they suffer early side effects like nausea or other digestive problems.

In the latest study, 6% of Zepbound users and 8% of Wegovy users left the trial due to side effects.

These medications slow down the passage of food through the stomach, allowing people to feel fuller, longer. However, issues arise if the drugs slow down the stomach too much and, in some cases, can lead to severe gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis.

The Post previously reported that about 30% of Wegovy users have experienced diarrhea, including some who claim they’ve woken up in the middle of the night to discover that they’ve defecated in their sleep.

Soiled sheets notwithstanding, both groups in the latest study saw health improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood fat levels.

GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound have been linked to a host of benefits beyond weight loss, including reduced dementia risk and addiction treatment.

While the drugs certainly contribute to weight loss and health gains, they also cause a decline in muscle that some doctors find concerning. In trials of Wegovy, up to 40% of weight loss was from a decrease in lean or fat-free mass, rather than excess fat.

In addition, quitting the drugs can mean adding back the pounds.

A 2022 study found that those who take semaglutides regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss after a year of being off the drug.

A more recent study published in December 2023 found a similar result in tirzepatide, the main ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound.