BEYOND Injectable Weight Loss Medications:  What’s New in Weight Loss

The use of injectable hormonal agonist medications changed the game for treating obesity. Studies consider use of oral weight loss medications successful if they achieved a 5% weight loss. Injectable medications push the boundaries with at least 10%, if not 20-25%⁽¹⁾ weight reduction. The use of medically supervised weight loss programs is very exciting, but the realm of obesity treatment continues to show novel promising results. These new advancements are very exciting for the future of obesity treatment as well as obesity’s comorbid conditions. With just 10% weight loss, researchers see improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure, and lipids. As we reach higher percentages, we also see improvements in many other obesity related conditions, such as sleep apnea and functional mobility.

Developments in Weight Loss Medications

A new injectable medication, known as retatrutide, is a triple hormone receptor agonist and shows even greater weight reductions than other weight loss medications in clinical trials. Research identifies that participants using this injectable lose greater than 30% of their body weight on the max dose in just 11 months. This study also shows a mean weight loss of 28.5% vs. 21.9%⁽¹⁾ for women and men, respectively. This is great news for our female patients given many women find it more difficult to lose weight than their male counterparts. Additionally, participants who received a max dose of retatrutide also experienced a mean 40% reduction in triglyceride levels, a mean 22%⁽¹⁾ reduction in LDL cholesterol, as well as reductions in HbA1c and blood pressure.

Along with the new injectable medication, there are also new developments involving oral medications. Previous oral medications were not very effective, averaging around 5% in total body weight reductions. Research shows that peptides are easily degraded in our digestive system when taken orally. To conserve the amount of medication reaching the bloodstream, there needs to be either higher dosages or protection method. This medication shows reductions of greater than 15%⁽¹⁾ in total body weight, vastly surpassing previous oral medications. Another new oral agent, known as orforglipron, is a promising new treatment showing 9-13%⁽¹⁾ reductions in total body weight. A popular selling point for this once-daily oral medication is that there are no dietary or medication restrictions.

Obesity & Weight Loss Medications

It is important to note that these are all treatments for obesity, not cures for the disease. Just like with any other chronic disease, the moment we discontinue these medications, the disease relapses. The goal of these medications is not only to effectively treat obesity, but to reduce the bias and stigma of treating obesity medically. The variety in new medications also allow medical professionals to identify what type of obesity a patient has and what treatment plan works most effectively while minimizing risks and side effects.

Source: (1) Promising new drugs usher in ‘transformational time’ for obesity treatment (healio.com)medi