You’ve heard the dramatic weight loss stories. Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, can help people lose 15 percent of their body weight. Tirzepatide, sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound, may be even more effective at shedding pounds.
There’s no such thing as a miracle cure for weight loss, but the latest obesity drugs seem to come pretty close. People who take Ozempic or other weekly shots belonging to a class known as GLP-1 agonists, after the gut hormone they mimic, can lose a fifth or more of their body weight in a year. Incessant “food noise” fueling the urge to eat suddenly goes silent.
When patients start on the latest obesity drugs, they find that their food cravings drop away, and then the pounds do too. But when patients go off the drugs, the gears shift into reverse: The food cravings creep back, and then the pounds do too.
