A new study shows that many people who undergo weight loss surgery are now also using popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound, and Mounjaro.
This marks a big change in how doctors and patients manage obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The research was shared at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025 in Chicago.
Dr. Patrick Sweigert, a surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said there is no single solution to treating obesity or diabetes.
Instead, doctors are now looking at combining different treatments—like medicine and surgery—to help people more effectively.
The researchers looked at nearly 365,000 patients who had weight loss surgery between 2018 and 2024.
They checked how many of them were prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists—medications like semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro). These drugs help people lose weight by affecting appetite and blood sugar levels.
In early 2020, only 1.8% of patients used these weight loss drugs before surgery. But by the end of 2024, that number had jumped to 29.4%. This is a 16-fold increase. The rise in drug use was seen in both people with diabetes and those without.
Among patients without diabetes, drug use went up from just over 2% in early 2022 to over 23% by late 2024—an 11-fold increase. For patients with diabetes, usage grew from 11% to more than 45% in the same time.
The typical patient in the study was 43 years old with a body mass index (BMI) of 46. Most of them—80%—were women, and about one-third had diabetes.
Dr. Stefanie Rohde, a co-author of the study, said that many patients used to think they had to choose either the drugs or surgery, but now more people are using both. Some patients even continue taking these drugs after surgery to lose more weight.
The researchers say that more real-world data will help doctors figure out when it’s best to use the drugs, whether before or after surgery. This will help build clear guidelines for treating obesity more effectively.
However, they also pointed out some limits of their research. For example, they don’t know if every patient actually took the drugs they were prescribed.
This study shows that the way we treat obesity is changing fast. By using both medicine and surgery, patients may have a better chance of long-term success in managing their weight and overall health.
If you care about obesity, please read studies about Scientists find two big contributors to obesity and findings of Higher dose of this diabetes med could improve blood sugar and weight loss.
For more about obesity, please read studies about Scientists find new key cause of obesity and findings of Double whammy: diabetes drug also knocks out obesity.
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