With weight-loss injectables now being sold at Costco and other major retailers, drugs like Ozempic are becoming more mainstream and accessible to the public. However, if you’re new to the world of GLP-1 medications or are thinking about switching prescriptions due to side effects, there are new findings that could benefit your own personal research—especially for women.
Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda, and Trulicity are just some of the names that you may have read about online, heard about at the doctor’s office, or seen on TV. However, it’s imperative to note that these prescribed drugs, while all marketed relatively the same to the untrained eye, have different jobs. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests trying Wegovy first if your end goal is to lose weight.
RELATED: Ozempic Patients Are Switching to These Less Expensive Weight-Loss Drugs.
While these drugs are classified as GLP-1 medications, their active ingredients differ. For instance, the active agent in Trulicity is dulaglutide, while Mounjaro’s active agent is tirzepatide.
As for the study, researchers focused on two active agents called semaglutide and liraglutide, the latter of which is found in Saxenda. Semaglutide is the active agent in Ozempic and Wegovy, however that doesn’t make the drugs interchangeable. Ozempic is mainly used to treat Type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy, which is typically administered in higher doses, is approved for weight loss, per GoodRx Health.
For the study, 3,389 patients (55 percent of whom identified as female) were prescribed injectables that contained semaglutide or liraglutide. Of this cohort, 2,785 patients were prescribed semaglutide (39.6 percent) and liraglutide (42.6 percent) to treat Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, 6.7 percent were prescribed liraglutide and 11.1 percent were prescribed semaglutide for obesity.
Overall, researchers found that semaglutide was more effective for weight loss with an average of 5.1 percent of patients achieving weight loss compared to the 2.2 percentage of liraglutide users. Keep in mind that Wegovy is the semaglutide injection that’s approved for weight loss, not Ozempic.
“We found that long-term weight reduction varied significantly based on the medication’s active agent, treatment indication, dosage and persistence with the medication,” Hamlet Gasoyan, PhD, lead study author and a researcher with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Value-Based Care Research, told Page Six.
RELATED: 9 Reasons You Should Avoid Ozempic If You’re Over 65, Doctors Say.
Additionally, weight-loss patients who were on the drug for at least a year yielded higher results than those who took it for 90 to 275 days. In fact, 61 percent of yearlong obesity patients on Wegovy achieved weight loss of 10 percent or more.
“Having real-world data could help manage expectations regarding weight reduction with GLP-1 RA medications and reinforce that persistence is key to achieve meaningful results,” explained Gasoyan, reiterating that results come with time.
Because GLP-1 medications are known to have a wide range of side effects, some of which are more serious than others, it’s important to speak with your doctor and keep a list of any adverse health symptoms you may be experiencing.