Revolutionary weight loss injection Mounjaro is nearly 50 percent more effective at shedding pounds than its rival Wegovy, according to the first head-to-head comparative trial between the two drugs.
The active ingredient tirzepatide, known as Mounjaro, has long been hailed as the "King Kong" of slimming injections and a breakthrough in the fight against obesity.
Now, American researchers have found that people who received the injection lost an average of a fifth of their body weight in just over a year.
In comparison, users of semaglutide—sold as Wegovy—lost about 13.7 percent of their body weight on average over the same 72-week period.
Both injections are the only ones currently available on the NHS for weight loss, but users must meet strict health criteria.
Scientists today said both drugs have a role in tackling the obesity crisis, but Mounjaro's sales are expected to increase significantly.
Dr. Louis Aronne, a metabolic health expert at Cornell University in New York and co-author of the study, said:
“Most people with obesity will benefit sufficiently from semaglutide – Wegovy.
Those at the higher end of the weight range will probably have better results with tirzepatide – Mounjaro.”
Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, who was not part of the study, added that both drugs were "good choices" for patients.
"Sometimes a 15 percent weight loss is enough, but many people want to lose as much as possible," he added, GazetaExpress reports.
“In the UK, private sales of tirzepatide are already ahead of semaglutide – that’s just reality – and this study will likely accelerate that trend.”
Both injections are taken once a week and are designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels, or for obese people who want to lose weight for health reasons.
Wegovy mimics a hormone released by the body after a meal to suppress hunger in the brain. Mounjaro, or tirzepatide, activates two such appetite “switches.”
However, both injections are also known for worrying side effects such as pancreatitis – sudden inflammation of the pancreas – or gastrointestinal problems.
The study, funded by Mounjaro's manufacturer, Eli Lilly, involved 750 obese people, with an average weight of 113kg (around 18 stone).
They were instructed to take the highest dose they could tolerate of one of the two drugs.
Presenting the findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga and in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said 32 percent of Mounjaro users lost a quarter of their body weight.
In comparison, only 16 percent of people who took Wegovy experienced the same weight loss.
Those who used Mounjaro lost an average of 18 cm from their waist, compared to 13 cm for those with Wegovy.
Mounjaro users also had greater improvements in blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels, while both groups experienced similar levels of side effects.
At least half a million patients on the NHS and around 15 million in the US are believed to be using weight loss injections, which can help people lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight in just a few months.
They have also been shown to significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
However, other reported problems include constipation, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and even hair loss.
According to official guidelines, only patients with a BMI over 35 and at least one weight-related health problem, such as high blood pressure, or those with a BMI between 30 and 34.9 who meet the criteria for referral to a specialist weight management service, can receive weight loss injections.
Obesity itself increases the risk of serious diseases that damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as some types of cancer.
Around two in three adults in the UK are overweight or obese, making the country one of the most affected in Europe.
A worrying report published last year suggested that the alarming level of obesity in Britain has led to a 39 per cent increase in type 2 diabetes in people under 40, with 168,000 Britons currently living with the disease.
Weight gain is also linked to at least 13 types of cancer and is the second biggest cause of this disease in Britain, according to Cancer Research UK. /Express newspaper/
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