Weight Control at WeightControl.com

JAMA Network Open Study Evaluates Which Patients Are More Likely To Discontinue Obesity Medications

Patients without insurance coverage for GLP-1 drugs face unique challenges in staying on these treatments, so their inclusion in research on adherence is essential.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Patricia Rodriguez PhD MPH
Principal Applied Scientist
Truveta Research

Ty J. Gluckman, MD, MHA
Center for Cardiovascular Analytics
Research and Data Science (CARDS)
Providence Heart Institute
Providence Health System
Portland, Oregon

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD
Healthcare Transformation Institute
Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: “Millions of Americans could benefit from GLP-1s, but clinical trials suggest that patients need to stay on these drugs to experience sustained benefits. We were interested in using data from patients across the country to understand whether patients are staying on these drugs, and what barriers may exist to continued use.

We looked at about 125,000 patients who started GLP-1 medications and found that a majority of patients stop taking them within one year. About 65% without type 2 diabetes (T2D) stopped within one year, compared with 47% of those with T2D.

Pages: 12

Henry Ford Study Finds Less Alcohol Intake in Patients on Obesity Medications

Lisa Miller-Matero, PhD
Associate Scientist & Associate Director of Health Services Research
Henry Ford Health

What was exciting was that those who were drinking at higher or even what is considered hazardous levels had a greater likelihood of reducing alcohol use.

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We partnered with colleagues at Weight Watchers (WW International) on this project after they began receiving reports from their members that they noticed reduced desire for alcohol use. Though there has been some research conducted in animal studies, research in humans has been lacking, especially examining changes in alcohol use.

ECO24: Tirzepatide Found Effective for Weight Loss Despite Duration of Obesity

Tirzepatide is a once weekly GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist while semaglutide was a once weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Giovanna Muscogiuri, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Endocrinology Unit
University Federico II
Naples, Italy

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The study was a subgroup analysis of SURMOUNT 1-4 aiming to investigate if tirzepatide was effective in terms of percent body weight change, proportions achieving weight loss targets of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% and change in waist circumference in subjects with different duration of obesity.

Pages: 12

EASD: Analysis Finds More Weight Loss (and side effects) with Tirzepatide in Type 2 Diabetes

Our analysis can help healthcare professionals make informed choices for managing type 2 diabetes, especially for those patients for whom weight loss is an important goal. However, like any medication, it’s crucial to consider the entire profile of tirzepatide, including side effects.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Dr Thomas Karagiannis MD
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki, Greece

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Previous individual studies have shown that both subcutaneous semaglutide and tirzepatide are very effective in managing blood sugar and reducing body weight in people with type 2 diabetes. However, direct comparisons between these medications have been limited.

In our study, we used a technique called a network meta-analysis to indirectly compare the two. This method allowed us to derive results by examining other trials that compared either of the drugs with placebo or another treatment.

Our findings indicated that tirzepatide had a stronger effect than semaglutide in controlling blood sugar and aiding weight loss. For example, those on the highest dose of tirzepatide lost, on average, 5.7 kg more than those on the highest dose of semaglutide. But, it’s worth mentioning that some side effects, especially related to the digestive system, were slightly more common with the high dose of tirzepatide.