Weight loss drugs are better for losing weight than diets, says expert

Those planning to slim down with a diet in the new year may want to think again.

An expert has now claimed that changing diet and exercise habits will never be as effective as weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic.

Professor Yoni Freedhoff of the University of Ottawa, who has spent decades researching the best ways to lose weight, compared data from the lifestyle-based weight-loss trial Look Ahead with two studies of new weight-loss shots.

He has now warned that those hoping to make a significant change in their body shape through diet could be disappointed.

Participants in the Look Ahead trial stuck to an ‘intensive’ diet plan, losing an average of 4.7 percent of their total body weight and maintaining it for at least four years.

However, those who took part in the prick trials lost between 10 and 25 percent of their body weight over the same period, depending on the type of drug used.

“It’s not a bad thing that we have drugs that deliver better results than lifestyle – in fact, it’s great,” Prof. Freedhoff said in an article for medical news website Medscape.

‘(They) not only produce dramatically greater and more sustainable weight loss than lifestyle interventions, they have also been shown to very significantly reduce the risk of an ever-growing list of other medical problems, including heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes. hypertension, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease and more, while the risk is minimal.”

Last year, more than four in 10 Brits made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, with four in five giving up by the third week of January.

Weight loss drugs include semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro.

Earlier this month, a plan to roll out tirzepatide across the NHS was announced. Nearly a quarter of a million people are expected to be eligible for the drug in the new year.