Patients who received Mounjaro are “more likely to achieve weight loss of 5%, 10% or 15% and above”, compared to those who received Ozempic, according to this study published on July 8, 2024 in the journal Jama. And these patients under Mounjaro “experienced greater weight reductions after 3, 6 and 12 months”, she adds.
A loss of approximately 15% of their weight after one year
In detail, patients who received Mounjaro, for example, had lost on average around 15% of their weight after one year, compared to around 8% for Ozempic, according to the study. This analyzed data from more than 18,000 adults in the United States between May 2022 – the month Mounjaro was approved – and September 2023.
Ozempic for its part was approved in 2017, but in recent years it has become a real phenomenon, promoted for its slimming properties including by personalities or on social networks.
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These two treatments administered by injections are approved by health authorities to treat type 2 diabetes, but the study also included patients who did not present this pathology. These drugs having shown their effectiveness in terms of weight loss during clinical trials, doctors can in fact prescribe them outside of official recommendations.
For this study, approximately half of the patients did not have type 2 diabetes. They also benefited from greater weight loss, for reasons that are not yet completely understood according to the study.
Serious side effects but not more frequent
Side effects, particularly gastrointestinal, were observed – intestinal obstruction, pancreatitis, etc. – but were not more frequent for one treatment than for the other.
A high proportion of patients also stopped the treatment during the study, which does not specify whether this stoppage was followed by weight regain, as has been reported by other studies.
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Further research into the reasons for these discontinuations is needed, including the role of side effects or the expensive price of these treatments, according to the study.
Both Ozempic and Mounjaro belong to a class of treatments that mimic an intestinal hormone (GLP-1). These new generation drugs, which allow much greater weight loss than previous ones, bring hope for millions of people and astronomical profits for pharmaceutical companies.
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