SAN ANTONIO — Ozempic may be all the rage with those looking to lose weight. But as Jeremy Baker, reports another medication may give some an upper leg on lowering their weight. That medication is Mounjaro. And the findings were released this month in the JAMA Internal Medicine medical journal.
Dr. Carolina Solis-Herrera, the Chief of the Endocrinology Division at UT Health San Antonio told us, "Talking about a clinical trial. Head to head with semaglutide, versus terzepatide. It did show a, gently, significant increase in weight loss."
Researchers looked at more than 18,000 adults. Each patient received tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, or semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic. They were given the medications between May of 2022 and September of 2023 and found that most benefited from a 5 percent weight loss, but more of a loss with tirzepatide. The reason for the increased weight loss? The way the drug communicates with your body. Dr. Solis-Herrera added, "It acts a little bit differently, in the sense that it sensitizes your adipose tissue."
That means the way your body responds differs from Ozempic. But you have to take into account your heart health too. Dr. Solis-Herrera said, "Terzepadide does not have a cardiovascular protection indication versus semaglutide. Semaglutide does have an indication for cardiovascular protection in patients with type two diabetes."
But the doctor says both meds work just fine. Dr. Solis-Herrera told us, "So bottom line, really, they're both very good. They're both very potent. And it's up to the clinician up to the doctor to decide what's most important for the patient."