Scientists from Yale and other research institutions have made an exciting discovery: a drug originally created to treat type 2 diabetes also works very well for weight loss.
The drug is called tirzepatide, and it has shown impressive results not just for people with diabetes, but also for those who are overweight or have obesity without diabetes.
Tirzepatide works by targeting two hormones that help control blood sugar and hunger. These hormones send signals from the stomach to the brain to help the body feel full and keep blood sugar levels balanced.
When the drug was first used to manage diabetes, doctors noticed that patients were also losing a lot of weight. This observation led researchers to study the drug’s effects on weight loss more closely.
In a recent study, researchers focused on people with obesity who did not have diabetes. The results were remarkable. People who took the highest dose of tirzepatide lost up to 21% of their body weight. That’s around 50 to 60 pounds for many participants—much more than what previous weight-loss drugs could achieve.
To compare, another drug called semaglutide was approved for weight loss in the past year and showed an average weight loss of 15%. Even that was seen as a big step forward. Before these newer drugs, older diet medications only helped people lose about 5% of their weight, and they often caused serious side effects.
Tirzepatide appears to be more effective and comes with fewer severe side effects for most people. In a 72-week clinical trial, only 15% of participants taking tirzepatide stopped the treatment, and about one-third of those dropouts were due to stomach-related side effects like nausea or diarrhea.
Interestingly, 26% of the people who received a placebo—an inactive treatment—also dropped out of the study, which shows that not all dropouts were caused by the drug itself.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tirzepatide under the brand name Mounjaro on May 13 for treating type 2 diabetes. But its strong results in helping with weight loss have sparked a lot of interest in using it to treat obesity too.
Doctors and scientists now believe that if people can lose 15% to 20% or more of their body weight, it might completely change how type 2 diabetes is treated. Instead of just keeping blood sugar under control, doctors might aim to help people reverse or even cure their diabetes through weight loss.
In fact, another earlier study found that around half of diabetes patients in the early stages of the disease went into remission while using tirzepatide. That means their diabetes was no longer active while taking the drug.
This breakthrough suggests tirzepatide could be a powerful new tool for improving the health of people with obesity and those at risk of diabetes. The study was led by Dr. Robert Gabbay and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As more research continues, this drug could offer hope to millions of people looking for a safer, more effective way to lose weight and manage their health.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Potatoes: friend or foe in the battle against diabetes? and findings of This blood pressure drug may protect kidney health in people with diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please read studies about Scientists find a promising treatment for type 2 diabetes and findings of Certain type 2 diabetes treatment may bring heart risks.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
