Women Are Losing More Weight on Ozempic—Scientists Are Finally Figuring Out Why
Medications that can help you lose weight—like Wegovy and Ozempic—have become household names. But a new study found that the results may not look the same for everyone.
The study, which was published in JAMA Network Open on September 13, had very different findings than previous clinical trials for the semaglutide medications, which found people could lose up to 20 percent of their body weight on these drugs. Instead, new research found that, on average, people who took semaglutides like Ozempic lost 5.1 percent of their body weight.
“Many individuals may have high expectations to achieve substantial weight reductions with these medications,” says lead study author Hamlet Gasoyan, PhD, a researcher and physician in the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at Cleveland Clinic.
But the study also found that women may be more likely to lose weight on these medications. Here’s what you need to know.
Meet the experts: Lead study author Hamlet Gasoyan, PhD, a researcher and physician in the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at Cleveland Clinic. Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. Kunal Shah, MD, an assistant professor in the division of endocrinology at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center.
What did the study find?
The study looked at medical records of nearly 3,500 patients with obesity who were prescribed semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) or liraglutide, a medication to treat type 2 diabetes that can also lead to weight loss.
On average, patients lost about 3.7 percent of their body weight after a year. Breaking it down, people who took semaglutide lost 5.1 percent of their body weight, while those who used liraglutide lost 2.2 percent.
Overall, the researchers discovered that people who took a medication for obesity lost more weight than those who took it for type 2 diabetes. (However, they also pointed out that people who take these medications for obesity tend to start at higher doses than those who take them for type 2 diabetes.) Overall, people who took semaglutide for obesity lost 12.9 percent of their body weight after a year, which is more consistent with other findings. (People who took it for diabetes lost 5.9 percent.)
Worth noting: Women were more likely to lose weight during the study than men.
What is the average weight loss for women on Ozempic?
It can be tricky to pin down an average weight loss for women on Ozempic, given that plenty of factors influence how much weight someone loses on the medication, says Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
This particular study found that women were 57 percent more likely to lose 10 percent of more of their body weight after a year.
Do women lose more weight on Ozempic or other semaglutides?
In this particular study, yes. But this also has been shown in other research, says Kunal Shah, MD, an assistant professor in the division of endocrinology at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center. “In practice, as well as in many studies before this, we’ve seen pretty consistently that women lose more weight than men [on semaglutide],” he says.
But that’s not always the case. “I see a variety of results,” Ali says. “It’s really patient-dependent. I’ve seen women do very well and lose the expected weight, and I’ve seen men do well, too. But I’ve also seen the opposite.”
Why do women lose more weight on Ozempic?
It’s hard to say. “The mechanisms underlying this discrepancy are unknown,” Gasoyan says.
However, Ali says that hormones may play a role. “Hormones are a big factor in weight gain and weight loss,” he says. “These medications are hormone analogues and may be more responsive in women.”
Women on average also tend to be smaller than men, which means the medications may be more effective for them, Shah says. “They’re going to affect someone with less body mass than someone with more mass,” he says.
What should I consider before going on Ozempic?
There are a few big things to consider. “Insurance coverage is probably the biggest thing,” Shah says. “These are long-term medications. You don’t want to have to pay out-of-pocket for these medications and then you have to go off of it because they’re no longer affordable, or you have an insurance that will only cover it for a little bit.”
If you have an underlying gastrointestinal condition like irritable bowel syndrome, taking a semaglutide medication (which has known G.I. side effects) can make things worse, Shah says.
Finally, you need to be classified as having obesity to get these medications for weight loss, Shah says.
If you're going on a medication like Ozempic, Ali says it’s important for people to make lifestyle changes, too.
“No matter what intervention we do—whether [it's] counseling, medication, or surgery—we’re really trying to give patients the tools they need to change their diet and lifestyle to maintain their success,” he says. “Patients who are the most successful use the medications as a tool to get to a healthy weight, and then maintain good habits.”
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