New medical review of mounjaro, wegovy & saxenda - see the results!
- Slim Transformation
- Oct 30
- 3 min read
A major new review has pitted the big three weight management products against each other – it looks at comparing the weight lost with each product and how long users were able to maintain their weight loss.
Scientists compared tirzepatide – the active ingredient of Mounjaro – to semaglutide, which is in Wegovy and Ozempic, and liraglutide, that’s in Saxenda.
he reviews – published in the gold-standard Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews – found tirzepatide helps users shed the most weight and keep it off longer than other GLP-1 drugs.
The weight loss dieters achieve on Mounjaro tends to last up to 3.5 years, researchers found.
All three jabs triggered significant weight loss compared to dummy drugs.
But data on how the drugs affect health in the long-term is lacking, the review authors noted.
GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking a fullness hormone in the gut which tells the brain to stop hunger signals, reducing how much patients eat.
They were originally developed to treat diabetes – think Ozempic – but are now being prescribed for weight loss.
The Cochrane reviews were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform upcoming guidelines on the use of jabs to treat obesity.
They found Mounjaro users lost up to 16 per cent of their body weight in 12 to 18 months and were able to stay slim for the longest compared to other GLP-1 RAs.
But hot on Mounjaro's heels was Wegovy, where participants reduced their weight by 11 per cent in three to 16 months and maintained it for up to two years, but had higher rates of nausea, vomiting and constipation.
Saxenda users lost a more modest 5 per cent, though they were still more likely to achieve meaningful weight loss compared to people on placebo drugs.
“This effect is likely sustained at longer at longer-term follow-up,” researchers said.
But they noted that evidence for longer-term effects beyond two years was more limited - these medications are still very new.
The review found little to no difference between the drugs or placebo when it came to cardiovascular complications, quality of life, or mortality. Side effects, nausea and digestive symptoms, were more common among GLP-1 users, and some stopped treatment due to side effects.
Juan Franco, co-lead researcher from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, said: “These drugs have the potential to bring about substantial weight loss, particularly in the first year. It’s an exciting moment after decades of unsuccessful attempts to find effective treatments for people living with obesity.”
Eva Madrid, from the Universidad de Valparaíso, added: “We need more data on the long-term effects related to cardiovascular health.
“Weight regain after stopping treatment may affect the long-term sustainability of the observed benefits. More independent studies from a public health perspective are needed.”
Scientists flagged that many weight loss jab studies are funded and planned by drug manufacturers, raising the risk of biased results and making impartial decisions difficult to make.
They also pointed out that high semaglutide and tirzepatide prices limit access to those in most need, more so since American drug giant Eli Lilly recently raised drug prices for Mounjaro in the UK to align with the rest of the global market, with the highest dose costing upwards of £300 a month.
More than 1.5million people are estimated to be using the current injections, known as GLP-1 drugs, with many buying them privately due to a lack of availability on the NHS. The jabs are only given on the NHS to people who are seriously overweight and already have health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure.
The review will also help inform the forthcoming WHO guidelines on the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists for treating obesity. The guidelines are expected to be launched soon and we will keep you posted on the full report!
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