New Obesity Drugs - Wegovy / Zepbound

Overview

There is great excitement in the medical world, in the media, and amongst patients regarding the breakthrough in the treatment of obseity using obesity new medications.

 

Currrent Weight Management Interventions include:

  • Lifestyle interventions and diets
  • Anti obesity medications (AOMs)
  • Orlistat
  • Phentermine
  • Topiramate
  • Naltrexone-bupropion
  • Liraglutide
  • Semaglutide / Tirzepatide (GLP-1) – Wegovy / Zepbound

 

        Bariatric procedures

  • Surgeries
  • Endoscopic interventions

 

The new obesity drugs, Wegovy and Zepbound, work by helping to regulate food intake and appetite.

 

The drugs act like a human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist (GLP-1 analog) – it mimics the action of GLP-1 produced naturally by the gut, and to a lesser extent the pancreas and nervous syste

 

GLP-1 targets areas of the brain that help to regulate appetite, especially after eating. It also slows how quickly the stomach empties, which makes you feel fuller for longer.

  • According to their manufacturers (Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly), both Wegovy and Zepbound MUST be used in conjunction with a reduced calorie meal plan and an increased physical activity plan.

 

  • The 25BMI Wegovy / Zepbound Lifestyle Intervention Program provides this lifestyle intervention  information for users.

 

  • We believe 25BMI is an efective intervention on its own, but may be used in combination with obesity drug medication, on the advice and recommendation of your Doctor.

Are Obesity Drugs Right For you?

The simple and correct answer here is : Ask Your Doctor!

Your own Doctor (G.P.) will know your medical history, will understand the range of weght loss option available and therefore will be in the best position to recommend the appropriate course of treatment for you.

 

Dozens of new online options have also sprung up.

 

Clinicians online will review your medical history online and prescribe a course of treatment, including new obesity medication, if appropriate.

 

While convenient, they lack the personal knowledge and experience of your own G.P..

Obesity drug treatments are intended for adults with a:

 

1. BMI (body mass index) greater than 30, or

2. BMI greater than 27 with an obesity-related medical condition (i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea)

 

and as an adjunct to a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management.

  • This is a drug treatment which is intended to continue for the rest of a patient’s life.

 

  • Research shows that patients who stop using these drugs regain most of their weight within 12 months .

 

  • “One year after withdrawal of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg and lifestyle intervention, participants regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss, with similar changes in cardiometabolic variables. Findings confirm the chronicity of obesity and suggest ongoing treatment is required to maintain improvements in weight and health. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism – A Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
  • In the USA, a four-week course of Wegovy has a list price of $1,349 a month.

 

  • Mounjaro has a list price of $974 for four weekly doses.

 

  • In the UK, pharmacies will charge patients with private insurance, or those paying out of their own pockets, between £199  and £299  for a month’s supply of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy.

 

  • 0.25mg £198.99
    0.5mg   £198.99
    1mg     £198.99
    1.7mg  £248.99
    2.4mg £298.99

These drugs are available, or becoming available, around the world.

 

They must be prescribed by a Doctor and can only be purchased in a Pharmacy.

 

Wegovy has recently been approved in the UK and is available now. It was approved in the USA in 2021.

At present the short answer is: YOU DO.

 

No national health service covers the cost of these drugs.

 

No private health insurance company covers the cost of these drugs.

 

The UK NHS is currently funding a trial for 40,000 NHS patients to evaluate the effectiveness of these drugs.

 

This may change in the future.

The active ingredient, semaglutide, mimics the action of the hormone that’s involved in regulating appetite. This means you feel fuller for longer and less hungry. This can help you to eat less and hopefully lose weight.

 

Like all medications, some people might feel some side effects from taking semaglitudes. It’s thought that more than one in 10 people might experience:

 

  • nausea / vomiting, diarrhea,
  • abdoninal pain,
  • constipation,
  • fatigue
  • acid reflux,
  • hedache
  • bloating

 Find out more by reading the patient information leaflet here.

Patients inject their weekly dose under the skin in the upper arms, stomach (2 inches away from belly button), or upper legs (front of thighs).

These new obesity drugs still require you to engage in lifestyle intervention program – a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity – to be effective.

 

25BMI Wegovy / Zepbound Lifestyle Intervention Program is one of these lifestyle interventions.

Ask your Doctor.

Do These Drugs Work?

  • In trials, patients taking Wegovy lost about 15% of their body weight on average, with a third of patients losing more than 20 per cent; patients taking Mounjaro caused average loss of 15% of body weight on a low dose to 22.5% on a higher dose.  NOTE: Combined with a lifestyle intervention.

 

 

 

  • As these drugs are so new, there are NO LONG TERM studies on their effectiveness for weight loss or impact on general health.

Weight Re-gain

Key Insights

 

  • A University of Oxford analysis of 11 studies found patients regain all lost weight within 10 months after stopping older GLP-1 medications and within 20 months for newer drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro.

 

  • Patients using newer GLP-1 drugs lost an average of 16.1 kg but regained weight at a rate of 0.8 kg per month after discontinuation, faster than weight regain following behavioral interventions.

 

  • The study highlights that weight loss medications may need to be considered lifelong treatments, as current guidelines recommend usage for two years or less.

 

 

A comprehensive analysis by the University of Oxford Biomedical Research Centre has revealed that patients who discontinue GLP-1 weight loss medications typically regain all lost weight within two years, with newer drugs showing both greater initial weight loss and faster subsequent weight regain.

 

The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity, analyzed 11 studies encompassing 7,944 titles and abstracts to examine weight regain patterns after stopping GLP-1 receptor agonists.

 

The research compared older medicationsSearch drug like ByettaView and VictozaView dwith newer formulations including Ozempic/Wegovy and Mounjaro.

 

Rapid Weight Regain Across All GLP-1 Medications
The analysis found that patients using any GLP-medication lost an average of 7.9 kg (17.4 lbs) during treatment. However, after discontinuation, participants regained weight at a monthly rate of 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs), projecting a return to original weight within just under one year.

“These drugs are very effective at helping you lose weight, but when you stop them, weight regain is much faster than [after stopping] diets,” said Susan Jebb, co-author of the study and professor of diet and population health at University of OxfordView company profile.

 


Newer Drugs Show Enhanced Efficacy but Accelerated Regain
Patients taking newer GLP-1 medications demonstrated significantly greater weight loss, averaging 16.1 kg (35.5 lbs) compared to older formulations. However, this enhanced efficacy came with a trade-off: weight regain occurred at a slightly faster rate of 0.8 kg (1.8 lbs) per month after stopping treatment.

 

The study specifically noted that patients using semaglutide (WegovyView ) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) “lost double the amount of weight compared with people using older jabs – 16kg on average – patients put on 9.6kg within a year, meaning they could expect to regain all 16kg again in just over 20 months.”


Implications for Treatment Duration and Approach
The findings challenge current treatment guidelines established by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which recommend GLP-1 medications for two years or less. The research suggests this timeframe may be insufficient for maintaining weight loss benefits.
“Either people really have to accept this as a treatment for life, or we in science need to think really, really hard, how to support people when they stop the drug,” Jebb stated.

 

The study concluded that “this rate of regain is greater than observed following behavioural weight management programmes and sounds a cautionary note to the use of these medications without a more comprehensive approach to the treatment of obesity and prevention of weight regain.”

 

Lifestyle Factors Remain Critical
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, emphasized that the results shouldn’t surprise anyone. “It shouldn’t surprise anyone if people regain weight having used GLP-1 drugs without seriously attempting to improve their lifestyle… Using GLP-1 is not the quick fix which many users believe it to be,” Fry told media outlets.


The researchers noted that the difference in weight regain speed between medication cessation and diet cessation might stem from the fundamental nature of these interventions. While dieting requires ongoing self-control and behavioral changes, GLP-1 medications primarily suppress hunger without teaching sustainable lifestyle modifications.


The study underscores the importance of combining pharmacological interventions with comprehensive lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes, exercise, stress management, and behavioral support, to achieve lasting weight management success.