Zepbound Slashes Diabetes Risk in Obese Users
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27, 2024 -- The cutting-edge weight-loss drug Zepbound can protect obese people from developing type 2 diabetes, a new clinical trial has found.
Zepbound reduced the risk of diabetes in obese prediabetic patients by more than 90% during a three-year period compared to placebo, trial results show.
“These results show that type 2 diabetes may be prevented, even in people who are on the verge of it, by using a medicine that causes weight loss,” researcher Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, said in a news release.
People with prediabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, but have not yet developed full-blown type 2 diabetes. Obesity is a risk factor both for prediabetes and for type 2 diabetes.
For this clinical trial, more than 2,500 obese people were randomly assigned to receive one of three different doses of Zepbound, or a placebo, for more than three years. Of those patients, more than 1,000 had prediabetes.
Zepbound (tirzepatide) in an injectable drug that activates receptors in the body for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) receptors, researchers said.
These receptors help slow digestion, reduce appetite and improve blood sugar control. GLP-1 drugs have been shown to promote significant weight loss.
In this trial, patients taking Zepbound had lost 12% to 20% of their initial weight after three years on the drug, with more weight lost at higher doses. By comparison, those on placebo lost a little more than 1% of their weight on average.
The drug also helped patients avoid diabetes. Only 1% of obese prediabetic patients taking Zepbound progressed to type 2 diabetes, compared with 13% of patients taking a placebo.
Based on these results, Zepbound could feasibly become the first approved treatment for prediabetes, Aronne said.
“Think about the impact these types of weight-loss drugs can have in preventing not only diabetes but also many other common diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, liver and kidney disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, and more,” Arrone said.
The findings were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Sources
- Weill Cornell Medicine, news release
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
About 1 in 3 U.S. Teens Now Have Prediabetes, New CDC Data Shows
FRIDAY, July 11, 2025 — A new government estimate shows that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. teens have prediabetes, putting them at risk for Type 2 diabetes and other serious health...
Experts Say There’s No Safe Amount of Processed Meat
THURSDAY, July 10, 2025 — A new study finds that eating even a little processed meat, drinking soda or consuming trans fats puts you at risk for serious health...
RFK Jr. Praises Meal Program Critics Say Is Ultra-Processed
WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025 — A government-backed meal delivery service for people on Medicaid and Medicare is getting national attention — but not all of it is...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.