Mounjaro vs Ozempic How Do They Compare As Weight Loss Drugs

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Mounjaro vs Ozempic How Do They Compare As Weight Loss Drugs

Mounjaro and Ozempic is a blood sugar-regulating medicine for type 2 diabetic patients. The active ingredient in Mounjaro is Tirzepatide and Semaglutide for  Ozempic.

Ozempic is approved for both blood glucose regulation and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Mounjaro, on the other hand, is being studied to lower the risk of cardiac arrests.

Mounjaro and Ozempic cause their users to lose weight within a few weeks. Observing the results, many other non-diabetic users have started to use these drugs to lose weight.

FDA is yet to approve both Mounjaro and Ozempic as weight loss drugs. Regardless of that fact, both of the medicines are trending as weight loss drugs. There are some fundamental differences between the two drugs. This article will discuss how Mounjaro and Ozempic compare as weight loss drugs.

Mounjaro VS Ozempic: Comparison Chart

To have a glance at the main comparison points of the two drugs, we have compiled a list –

 

Name Mounjaro Ozempic
Active Ingredient Tirzepatide Semaglutide
Action On Receptor GIP & GLP-1 Receptor GLP-1 Receptor
Works On Regulating Blood Sugar for Type – 2 diabetes with exercise and diet. Regulation of Blood Sugar and prevent cardiovascular diseases for diabetes type -2
Weight Loss 7.7-11.4 Kg in 4 weeks 5.9 Kg in 4 weeks
Price $1035 for 2 mL $950 for 1.5 mL
Side Effects Vomiting, Nausea, constipation, heartburn Vomiting, Nausea, constipation, heartburn
Frequence Of Injection Once every 7 days Once every 7 days
Injection Method Subcutaneous injection Subcutaneous injection

 

As a weight loss drug, it looks like Mounjaro is the most effective one out of the two. Let’s discuss this further in detail about the drugs.

Mounjaro vs Ozempic

Mounjaro is a subcutaneous injection drug for type – 2 diabetic patients. Manufactured by Eli Lilly, this drug regulates blood sugar combined with physical exercise and diet. Unlike Ozempic, Mounjaro works on both GIP and GLP-1 receptors.

Mounjaro stimulates the two receptors that signal the pancreas to secrete more insulin. The drug then works on the liver to stop producing sugar; combined, the patient’s blood sugar level stays controlled.

On the other hand, Ozempic is also a subcutaneous injection manufactured by Novo Nordisk that works on the GLP-1 receptor. With weekly intake, Ozempic lowers a patient’s blood sugar level without the exercise of meals.

Along with reducing blood glucose levels, Ozempic also decreases the potential of stroke and heart attack in a patient. Both Mounjaro and Ozempic are known to be unsafe for children under the age of 18.

Mounjaro vs Ozempic: As A Weight Loss Drug

A study was conducted to observe the weight loss pattern in non-diabetic users of Mounjaro. These doses were taken within 1 to 72 weeks. It was observed that –

Those who injected 15mg of Tirzepetide lost 52 pounds. Those who took 10 mg once per week lost 49 pounds. Finally, for 5 mg, users have reported having lost 35 pounds.

For Ozempic, a study observed 10-15% weight loss among the participants with no change in their diet and exercise. The result is staggeringly good considering no change of diet and exercise were made.

Chemically, Mounjaro and Ozempic have different active ingredients. However, both ingredients work on the same hormones. They initially cause the users to feel fuller for longer, decreasing their food intake.

Ultimately within a few weeks, they start to lose weight.

Mounjaro VS Ozempic: Which Causes More Weight Loss?

Medical studies were conducted to observe the weight loss amount for both drugs. Between 1 to 72 weeks, Mounjaro causes weight loss of up to 52 pounds with different dosages.

On the contrary, Ozempic users up to 15% of their total body weight. Hence, Mounjaro will help you lose more weight than Ozempic. The question is, are they FDA-approved for weight loss drugs?

Mounjaro VS Ozempic: FDA Approval As Weight Loss Drugs

Mounjaro and Ozempic are both antidiabetic drugs, as we all know. Recently, doctors have been prescribing Ozempic to treat chronic obesity for some of their patients.

Similarly, Mounjaro was prescribed to patients dealing with chronic obesity. This ultimately became a TikTok trend and an easy way to lose weight. This may have given a wrong impression that Ozempic or Mounjaro is FDA-approved. But the reality says otherwise.

Mounjaro VS Ozempic_ FDA Approval As Weight Loss Drugs

Between Mounjaro VS Ozempic, none of the two are FDA approved for weight loss. They were explicitly manufactured and approved for treating the insulin problem in type-2 diabetic patients.

So how did these two drugs emerge and trending as weight loss drugs?

Emergence Of Mounjaro And Ozempic As Weight Loss Drugs

Mounjaro and Ozempic have Tirzepatide and Semaglutide as active ingredients, respectively. Both products are hormones that initiate the pancreas to secrete insulin. What it does is keep the blood sugar level at a normal level.

These drugs also slow down the progression of food through the stomach. As a result, users don’t feel hungry as much, leading them to lower their food intake. This mechanism works both on diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Hence, some doctors have prescribed the drugs to patients dealing with chronic obesity.

Even though they were not FDA approved, these drugs were allowed to be prescribed as ‘off-label’

What they did was, help them to kickstart their weight loss journey. As the users observed their seemingly rapid weight loss, they started preaching about the drugs to the general public.

As a chain reaction, Mounjaro and Ozempic started trending as weight loss drugs. Seeing the astounding results, the general public started to treat them as an easy weight loss method.

The manufacturer of Ozempic has a similar drug, Wegovy, for weight loss which is FDA-approved. Yet Ozempic was prescribed more because they were more effective.

The era being a digital one where information spreads rapidly, Mounjaro and Ozempic quickly started trending. With all that being said, which one should you consider between Mounjaro vs Ozempic for weight loss?

Mounjaro Vs Ozempic: Which Is Better As A Weight Loss Drug?

If you’re looking at the effectiveness of both drugs, Mounjaro is an easy winner. You’ll quickly shed extra weight within a few weeks of injecting 0.5-1 mg weekly.

Mounjaro Vs Ozempic: Side Effects

Now let’s look at the side effects of both drugs –

Mounjaro  Ozempic
Vomiting Vomiting
Nausea Nausea
Stomachache Stomachache
Indigestion Indigestion
Constipation Constipation
Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia
Prolonged digestion problems Prolonged digestion problems

 

As the table suggests, both the drugs have similar side effects. Hypoglycemia is an alarming side effect for non-diabetic people.

To elaborate, non-diabetic people don’t need extra insulin secretion to control blood sugar. With the intake of Mounjaro or Ozempic, the blood sugar will fall below the necessary level and pose a danger to their lives.

With long-term use of these drugs, people are reported as having developed a repulsion against food. They can only eat a few bites of their meal; even the visual of food would make them repulsed. This ultimately can cause eating disorders in a lot of people.

A spike in demand has caused a shortage of Mounjaro and Ozempic on the market.

Verdict: Mounjaro or Ozempic?

Mounjaro went through 5 clinical trials against Ozempic as a placebo. Mounjaro exhibited the highest efficacy against glycemic control and weight loss in all cases.

The participants had BMI between 30 to 34. With the maximum recommended dose, they lost 12 pounds more than those on Ozempic. So as a weight loss drug, Mounjaro is more effective. It is recommended for chronically obese people with type-2 diabetes.

However, if you are a non-diabetic patient, doctors highly discourage the use of Mounjaro and Ozempic. There are several reasons behind the discouragement.

Firstly, both Mounjaro and Ozempic are life-saving drugs for diabetes mellitus patients. With non-diabetic patients purchasing the drugs, it hurts the supply for the patients who need them to stay alive. Currently, countries are suffering from Mounjaro, and Ozempic shortages and diabetic patients are waiting for weeks for the new shipment to arrive.

Secondly, both drugs have many minor and severe side effects that can harm the overall well-being of healthy patients. Some users already suffer from an eating disorder after using Mounjaro or Ozempic to lose weight.

Thirdly, both drugs are pretty expensive. One pen of each drug costs $950-1050; in the long run, this may land you in financial trouble.

Is There Any Alternative to Mounjaro VS Ozempic?

You can try Wegovy for weight loss. This drug also has semaglutide as an active ingredient and is approved by the FDA for losing weight.

Consult your doctor if you’re interested, and always exercise and maintain a healthy diet, besides using any drugs to lose weight. Ultimately, only drug-reliant lost weight returns as soon as they stop taking it.

Conclusion

That concludes our comparison article between Mounjaro vs Ozempic. Both are effective drugs for glycemic control as well as losing weight.

That being said, physicians are discouraging the use of these drugs only for weight loss purposes. Among the other reasons, these drugs are yet to receive approval as weight loss drugs.

Even so, if you’re struggling to lose weight, consult your physician before taking help from off-labeled or weight-loss drugs.

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