December 14, 2023 – New drugs used for weight reduction could produce results as temporary as they're dramatic, based on a study published this week within the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Much of the burden people lose while taking these drugs returns after they stop taking them, the study says.
The study checked out users of weekly injections of tirzepatide, the lively ingredient in Eli Lilly and Co.'s Zepbound. This drug was approved by the United States last month as a weight reduction agent. Scientific alert reported.
“Tirzepatide is part of a new class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists that are being developed to treat type 2 diabetes,” it said Weill Cornell Medicine. “In addition to controlling blood sugar, the drugs also caused weight loss, which is why pharmaceutical companies developed special formulations to help patients lose weight.”
In the study, 670 adults lost 20.9% of their weight after 36 weeks. Half of the participants received a placebo after 88 weeks and regained almost half of the burden lost, ending up 9.9% below their starting weight.
Those who continued taking Zepbound continued to drop a few pounds – ending up 25.3% lower than where they began.
The participants were mostly women with a mean age of 48 years. Their average weight at first of the study was 236.6 kilos. All participants were instructed to eat 500 fewer calories than they burned every day and to exercise no less than 150 minutes per week.
The results “emphasize the need to continue pharmacotherapy to prevent weight gain and ensure maintenance of weight loss,” the study authors said.