Most obesity drugs do not improve quality of life or reduce cardiovascular risk, analysis finds

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A meta-analysis of obesity drug trials found that most medications, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, lead to significant weight loss but do not improve quality of life or reduce cardiovascular risk. Higher weight loss drugs were linked to more adverse effects, and benefits were not sustained post-treatment.

Obesity drugs such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) produce substantial weight loss for patients but do not meaningfully improve their quality of life, and most do not show cardiovascular benefits at one year, shows a meta-analysis of latest trial data published in The BMJ.1A key finding was that the obesity drugs associated with the most weight loss were also generally associated with greater harms, including gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, and loss of lean muscle mass, and were more likely to be discontinued by patients.Importantly, weight loss achieved while people were taking the drugs was not sustained after they stopped treatment.Previous meta-analyses have focused on weight loss outcomes, and obesity drugs have not been compared directly in head-to-head trials, leaving uncertainty over the broader balance of benefits and harms, prompting this meta-analysis.The trials it included were primarily designed to assess weight loss, and the researchers acknowledged that longer term trials are...