Obesity Drugs Lose Weight, but Not Necessarily Improve Quality of Life

Illustration of an obese person walking. Studies find obesity drugs can lose weight, but not necessarily improve quality of life. Illustration photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - Obesity drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro can help lose weight. However, a new study found that most of these drugs have not been shown to significantly improve quality of life after one year of use.

Quoted from Euronews, Saturday, July 11, the study published in the journal The BMJ analyzed 262 clinical trials involving about 100,000 participants and 19 types of drugs.

The results showed that greater weight loss was consistently associated with increased adverse events and discontinuation of treatment.

"Most active substances do not significantly improve quality of life and only a few show benefits for the heart and blood vessels," the researchers wrote.

In the clinical trial, participants filled out a standard questionnaire on health-related quality of life. Researchers then compared the change in scores between drug users and participants who only underwent lifestyle changes.

In most major treatments, changes in quality of life scores have not been judged large enough to be considered medically important.

Tirzepatide, the active substance in Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as CagriSema produced the greatest weight loss in overweight adults. CagriSema has not yet received approval for clinical use.

The injectable semaglutide used in Ozempic and Wegovy has the strongest evidence in reducing the risk of death and severe events in the heart and blood vessels.

However, tirzepatide and semaglutide are also associated with a decrease in lean body mass, which can be detrimental to health. Lean body mass is the total body weight other than fat.

Low lean body mass is associated with increased risk of falls, fractures, and premature death.

The authors assessed that weight loss alone is not enough to measure the success of obesity treatment. Health conditions, ability to move, and quality of life also need to be taken into account.

Euronews noted that most of the clinical trials analyzed had a short monitoring period. Longer studies are still needed to understand the long-term impact of new drugs.

Findings on quality of life also need to be read carefully. Researchers not involved in the study said each patient's experience is different and not always captured by standard questionnaires.

"Quality of life is complex and different for everyone," said Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge.

According to Spreckley, standard measuring tools do provide important information. However, these tools may not capture the entire experience of treatment that is considered important by people with obesity.

Obesity is now increasingly understood as a complex chronic disease. The study's authors warn that using weight as the only measure can simplify the benefits and risks of treatment, while reinforcing the stigma against people with obesity.

José M. Ordovás of Tufts University said the study's findings were in line with existing knowledge.

"A number of drugs do produce large weight loss, but losing weight does not automatically improve all aspects of health," said Ordovás, who was not involved in the study.

"The scales only tell part of the story, not the whole," he said.

According to Ordovás, the success of treating obesity should be judged from health, the ability of the body to carry out activities, and quality of life, not just from the number of kilograms that fall.