‘Game changing' fat jabs WON'T help you lose as much weight as you think, scientists discover

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

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SO-CALLED 'miracle' weight-loss jabs are far less effective in the real world than in clinical trials, a major study has revealed.
The new findings could have big implications for Brits considering the injections, which have soared in popularity across the UK in recent years.
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In a 'real-world' setting people might lose less weight in a regular clinical setting than during clinical trials
Credit: Alamy
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The drugs work best when people stick to them and take the full recommended dose
Credit: Reuters
Until now, the jabs have been hailed as an easier alternative to classic weight loss methods like calorie counting, weight watchers and the gym.
But researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in the US found average weight loss on the jabs in the 'real world' is just 6.9 per cent after a year.
This is less than half the amount typically seen in clinical trials, where patients often lose 15 per cent with semaglutide, the ingredient in Wegovy, and up to 22.5 per cent with tirzepatide, found in Mounjaro.
The study, published on Tuesday in Obesity, followed 7,881 adults with severe obesity who started semaglutide or tirzepatide between 2021 and 2023.
It discovered the drugs worked best when people stuck to them and took the full recommended dose, but in the real world, that rarely happened.
More than one in five patients (21 per cent) stopped taking the jabs within the first three months, and another 32 per cent quit between three and 12 months.
Meanwhile, over 80 per cent were on lower-than-recommended maintenance doses, needed to keep the weight off.
Those who quit early lost just 3.6 per cent of their body weight.
Patients who stayed on the treatment for a full year lost 11.9 per cent on average.
The best results were seen in people who stayed on full doses, who lost 13.7 per cent with semaglutide and 18 per cent with tirzepatide.
GP-approved tips to really lose weight safely - and keep it off
'Our findings could inform the decisions of healthcare providers and their patients on the role of treatment discontinuation and maintenance dosage in achieving clinically meaningful weight reductions," Dr Hamlet Gasoyan, lead author of the study, said.
Among the 1,320 people with prediabetes, the precursor to type 2 diabetes, at the start of the study, those who stayed on the jabs were also far more likely to reverse the condition.
Don't stop the drugs early
These medications work by copying a natural hormone found in the body called GLP-1.
This hormone helps people feel fuller for longer, which reduces appetite and helps with weight loss.
It also helps control blood sugar by telling the pancreas to make more insulin and slowing down how quickly sugar from food gets into the bloodstream.
That's why these drugs are effective at both preventing type 2 diabetes and helping people shed pounds.
Just 33 per cent of early quitters returned to normal blood sugar levels, compared with 68 per cent of those who stayed on the medication.
'Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common complications of obesity, so diabetes prevention is very important,' Dr Gasoyan said.
'This study highlights that treatment discontinuation, especially early, negatively affects both weight and glycemic control outcomes.'
The most common reasons for stopping the jabs were cost, insurance issues, side effects and shortages, it said,
The experts said a follow-up study is planned to dig deeper into why patients quit, and what happens to their weight afterwards.