Is this the new Ozempic? Everything you need to know about weight loss jab Mounjaro – and how to find out if you’re eligible

By James On Feb 24, 2024

Ozempic has become a household name after the jab – initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes – has since been used off-label (for a purpose other than that for which it was approved) in both the US and Britain . to treat obesity.

However, medical experts have recently paid more attention to other injections that can be used for weight loss, especially Wegovy and Mounjaro.

The latter is much newer – many companies and pharmacies have only launched it in the past week – but both work because they contain drugs that mimic hunger-suppressing hormones in the body.

Clinical trials appear to show promising results for the newcomer, suggesting that Mounjaro leads to more weight loss than Wegovy, with an average of about 25 percent after one year, compared to Wegovy’s 16 percent.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Mike Gibbs, the co-founder and COO of NHS-backed healthy eating plan Second Nature (www.secondnature.io), revealed everything you need to know about the treatments.

However, the expert also emphasized that weight loss medications are not a “magic solution” to obesity.

“Weight loss injections are designed as complementary tools for healthy lifestyle changes and should not be considered life-long medications,” he explained.

“Instead, they should be used to kick-start a person’s weight loss journey as he or she focuses on building new, healthy habits.”

‘Consider the use of antidepressants for people with depression. They are not designed to cure the condition. Instead, they are designed to allow for therapy to treat the underlying cause.

‘Mounjaro and Wegovy look alike. These medications can help silence food-related thoughts and give people a boost of self-confidence with more immediate weight loss results.”

Mike added that this helps people “buy the time and space to understand why their body has struggled to lose weight.”

Here, the expert shared what to do as you consider your options – and how to know if you qualify.

What are the top weight loss injections in Britain?

Wegovy and Mounjaro are the brand names of the two most popular weight loss injections available for private purchase. Wegovy contains a drug called semaglutide, which is also produced under the name Ozempic, which has received much more press than Wegovy.

Here, the expert shared what to do as you consider your options – and how to know if you qualify. Stock image used

In Britain, Wegovy is approved for weight loss in obese people and can be purchased privately. But Ozempic is no longer available to buy privately for weight loss.

The other main weight loss injection in Britain is Mounjaro, which contains a drug called tirzepatide.

Using Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight? These drugs are now linked to another serious health condition, research suggests

Experts have also warned that taking the slimming shots Ozempic and Wegovy may increase the risk of serious gastrointestinal problems, adding to the ever-growing list of unwanted side effects.

People who use weekly injections of Ozempic and Wegovy, with the active ingredient semaglutide, for weight loss are at greater risk of pancreatitis, intestinal obstructions and stomach paralysis.

Users were warned last year that although rare, thousands of people could be at risk due to the drugs’ rising popularity.

Lead study author Mohit Sodhi, a medical student studying at the University of British Columbia, Canada, said: “People who are otherwise healthy may be less willing to accept these potentially serious side effects.”

Previous research has shown that people who took the drugs for diabetes were at greater risk for pancreatitis, intestinal obstructions and gastric paralysis.

However, the recent study is the first to look at the effects of the drugs on the stomach and intestines in people who use the drugs exclusively to lose weight.

What are the differences between Wegovy and Mounjaro?

Research shows that Mounjaro leads to more weight loss than Wegovy, with an average of about 25 percent after one year, compared to Wegovy’s 16 percent.

Mounjaro and Wegovy contain medications that mimic two hormones in the body that reduce hunger: GLP-1 and GIP.

The GLP-1 hormone has three important effects in your body:

1. It slows down the speed at which food moves from your stomach to your small intestine.

2. It communicates with the appetite control center in your brain to increase satiety so you feel less hungry.

3. It regulates the release of the hormones insulin and glucagon in your body, which ultimately leads to lower blood sugar levels (generally a good thing).

The natural GLP-1 hormone in your body only lasts for a few minutes, while the GLP-1 medications can last for many days. This means that they can have the above effects for a longer period of time.

This leads to users feeling less hungry because they have food in their stomach for longer, and GLP-1’s effect on the brain causes users to feel like they have less ‘food noise’. It also reduces cravings for highly desirable foods.

The main difference between Wegovy and Mounjaro is that the drug in Wegovy mimics a single hormone, GLP-1, while the drug in Mounjaro mimics both GLP-1 and GIP.

GIP is a hormone that supports blood sugar levels and helps our fat cells store the excess energy that we might consume through our diet.

It is thought that this double-acting effect of Mounjaro is the reason that better weight loss results have been observed in the clinical trials published to date.

Otherwise, both Wegovy and Mounjaro are generally comparable in cost and are also administered by injection once a week.

What are the most common side effects?

The most common side effects of Wegvoy and Mounjaro are nausea, constipation, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as fatigue.

These symptoms usually occur around the time of the injection and as the dosage is increased over time. However, symptoms usually subside after adjustment to the medications.

A recent study found that 44 percent of people who followed Second Nature’s semaglutide weight loss program felt “more tired than normal” after four weeks.

However, after eight weeks, the number of people reporting fatigue had halved from 44 percent to 22 percent.

Finally, it’s worth noting that everyone responds differently to these medications; some people will not experience any side effects, while others will.

What are the eligibility criteria for weight loss injections?

What does a medication-supported healthy eating plan look like?

If you use Wegovy and Mounjaro, you will eat fewer calories. This means it’s even more important to make sure your calories are high quality and healthy.

But being healthy must be boring. It just means that you aim to get a serving of protein with each meal, along with some form of vegetables and healthy fats (for example, olive oil).

When you are drastically reducing your calorie intake and losing weight, increasing your relative protein intake and doing some resistance exercises can help minimize muscle loss and maximize fat loss.

There are strict eligibility criteria for these medications. It is important to avoid listing all the criteria so that people cannot easily manipulate the system. But in general, people living with obesity (BMI over 30) should not have any health problems or previous binge eating that would make the drug unsuitable for them.

The Second Nature website has an online test you can take to check your eligibility.

Can you get Wegovy and Mounjaro on the NHS?

Yes, but only in very specific circumstances. They are often prescribed in addition to a referral from a GP to a so-called ‘specialist weight management service’, and also where more conventional weight loss methods have failed.

What should you pay attention to when buying Wegovy or Mounjaro online?

Firstly, make sure you buy from a reputable supplier registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

There have been horror stories of people buying counterfeit Ozempic/Wegovy pens or powders that turned out to be a completely different drug.

Second, you need to consider whether you want the weight loss injection alone, or whether you want to use the medication in addition to a lifestyle change program to change your habits.

The clinical trials for Wegovy and Mounjaro were based on the medication taken in addition to a lifestyle change. Published studies of semaglutide have shown that when people stop taking the drug, users regain much of the weight.