Tirzepatide Tied to Substantial Additional Weight Loss After Lifestyle Intervention

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Tirzepatide provides substantial additional reduction in body weight in participants who already achieved ≥5.0 percent weight reduction with an intensive lifestyle intervention, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in Nature Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of The Obesity Society (ObesityWeek), held from Oct. 14 to 17 in Dallas. 

Thomas A. Wadden, Ph.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues randomly assigned (1:1) 579 adults with body mass index ≥30 or ≥27 kg/m² and at least one obesity-related complication (excluding diabetes), who achieved ≥5.0 percent weight reduction after a 12-week intensive lifestyle intervention, to the tirzepatide maximum tolerated dose (10 or 15 mg) or placebo once weekly for 72 weeks. 

The researchers found that the coprimary end point of additional mean percent weight change from randomization to week 72 was met with changes of −18.4 percent with tirzepatide and 2.5 percent with placebo. For the additional coprimary end point of the percentage of participants achieving additional weight reduction ≥5 percent, 87.5 percent of participants taking tirzepatide and 16.5 percent taking placebo achieved this threshold (odds ratio, 34.6 percent). Gastrointestinal events, most being mild to moderate in severity, were the most common adverse events seen with tirzepatide. 

“The additional weight loss produced further improvements, compared with placebo, in multiple measures of health, including waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, blood sugar, and physical functioning,” Wadden said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly, which manufactures tirzepatide and funded the study.

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