A recent study has revealed that popular weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, may not achieve the desired results as advertised.
In the Cleveland Clinic study, researchers followed nearly 8,000 obese US patients (average age 51) who were prescribed either semaglutide or tirzepatide — the active ingredients in Ozempic, Igovy, and Mounjaro — for a year.
Patients were found to lose up to 50% less weight than what was shown in clinical trials presented by pharmaceutical companies.
Medication discontinuation rates were also high, with approximately 40% of patients stopping their medication within a year due to severe side effects such as stomach problems and, in rare cases, blindness.
They found that one in five patients stopped taking their medication within the first three months, and about one in three before the end of the year.
During this period, participating patients lost between 4% and 12% of their body weight, depending on the length of treatment, compared to a loss of between 15% and 21% in clinical trials.
Researchers attribute this disparity to higher drug discontinuation rates and the use of lower doses compared to clinical trials, in addition to higher costs and difficulty obtaining insurance coverage.
"Our results show that the actual use of weight-loss medications in conventional clinical settings is very different from randomized clinical trials, where early discontinuation and dose reduction impact weight loss," said Dr. Hamlet Gasoyan, the study's lead researcher.
This study highlights the importance of patient persistence and adherence to treatment to achieve optimal outcomes, while taking into account the challenges of cost and side effects that lead to discontinuation.
