Which Works Better for Weight Loss and How They Compare

Whereas solely Zepbound is permitted for weight reduction, each medicine can affect the quantity on the size, particularly when mixed with a nutritious weight loss plan and common train. Listed below are another similarities between the 2:

• Authorized for adults 18 and older
• Meant for long-term use
• Reduces urge for food
• Causes weight reduction
• Lowers blood sugar
• Impacts digestion
• Injected as soon as every week
• Will increase threat for thyroid most cancers in sure folks

Selecting between Ozempic and Zepbound is dependent upon which choice your healthcare supplier believes is most secure and handiest for you. They’ll contemplate your medical circumstances, side-effect tolerance, insurance coverage protection, and weight-loss objectives earlier than recommending one. Issues to think about embrace:

• Coronary heart-related circumstances: You probably have circumstances like coronary heart illness, your supplier might suggest Ozempic as a result of it has been proven to scale back the danger of sure heart-related problems.
• Weight reduction or sleep apnea: In case your major wants are weight reduction or remedy for obstructive sleep apnea—and also you meet the factors—your supplier might suggest Zepbound.
• Insurance coverage concerns: As a result of Ozempic will not be FDA-approved for weight reduction, insurance coverage might not cowl it, making Zepbound the less expensive choice.
• Security steering: At all times seek the advice of together with your healthcare supplier earlier than making this resolution. Keep away from counterfeit or online-purchased medicines, as they pose vital security dangers.

• FDA approval: Initially permitted in 2017 to deal with type 2 diabetes, its approval was later expanded to incorporate the discount of the danger of main cardiovascular occasions. And, in 2025, it was permitted to forestall the worsening of kidney disease. Ozempic will not be permitted for weight reduction, however it could be prescribed for off-label use.
• Effectiveness: Though Ozempic will not be permitted for weight reduction, it could possibly nonetheless affect weight administration and will result in weight reduction. One research adopted folks for 68 weeks and located that these taking semaglutide misplaced a mean of 15% of their physique weight.
• Widespread unwanted effects: Like Zepbound, Ozempic could cause nausea, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, abdomen ache, injection web site reactions, burping, and reflux. It may additionally trigger rarer, however extra severe, unwanted effects like allergic reactions, pancreatitis, thyroid most cancers, and diabetic retinopathy. Ozempic additionally has a boxed warning from the FDA that it causes thyroid tumors in animals, however researchers have no idea if it is going to do the identical in people.
• Security: Simply as with Zepbound, for those who or somebody in your loved ones has ever had medullary thyroid most cancers, you shouldn’t take this remedy. You additionally mustn’t take Ozempic when you have a number of endocrine neoplasia kind 2. Moreover, this drug will not be meant to deal with kind 1 diabetes.

• FDA approval: Zepbound was permitted in 2023 for weight reduction in adults with a physique mass index (BMI) of 30 or extra. Individuals with a BMI of 27 and no less than one weight-related well being situation can be prescribed Zepbound. The drug was additionally permitted for the remedy of obstructive sleep apnea in December 2024.
• Effectiveness: Zepound is a extremely efficient weight loss drug. One 72-week research discovered that individuals taking the remedy misplaced a mean of 21% of their physique weight. This implies somebody who weighs 250 kilos once they begin the drug may doubtlessly lose 52 kilos or extra. For these with sleep apnea, as much as 50% had no signs after one yr.
• Widespread unwanted effects: Like different related medicines, Zepbound could cause nausea, diarrhea, constipation, hair loss, vomiting, abdomen ache, injection web site reactions, fatigue, burping, and reflux. It may additionally trigger rarer, however extra severe, unwanted effects like allergic reactions, gallbladder issues, pancreatitis, and thyroid most cancers. Actually, Zepbound has a boxed warning from the FDA that it causes thyroid tumors in animals, although it’s unknown if it is going to do the identical in people.
• Security: In case you or somebody in your loved ones has ever had thyroid most cancers comparable to medullary thyroid most cancers, you shouldn’t take this remedy. Likewise, when you have a number of endocrine neoplasia kind 2, you additionally mustn’t take Zepbound.