What are weight loss injections?

Although the active ingredients in weight loss injections (WLI) have different names, they’re mostly from the same family of drugs and work in a similar way.

Wegovy contains the active ingredient semaglutide, a component almost identical to the hormone known as GLP-1, which is secreted by your gut when you eat something.

Ozempic works by manipulating your appetite for you to feel full quicker, but also by slowing down the emptying of the stomach, so you can feel full for longer after you eat. It’s often prescribed as a treatment for type-2 diabetes, so if you’re at high risk, or you already have the condition, Ozempic might be the ideal option for you. It’s only licensed for use in diabetes at the moment.

Semaglutide works by manipulating your appetite for you to feel full quicker, but also by slowing down the emptying of the stomach, so you can feel full for longer after you eat. It’s often prescribed as a treatment for type-2 diabetes under the name Ozempic, so if you’re at high risk, or you already have the condition, it might be the ideal option for you.

Wegovy also targets the parts of the brain responsible for appetite control. This means that you’ll likely reduce the amount of calories you eat and go on to lose weight. Both Ozempic and Wegovy should be taken alongside a calorie controlled diet and an increase in exercise.

Saxenda uses the active ingredient liraglutide, a synthetic derivative of the hormone GLP-1. This hormone is responsible for your appetite, so by topping up with liraglutide your body will think it’s full faster, and for longer.

Zepbound contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, which is a GLP-1 receptor and a GIP receptor agonist. It works in a similar way to Wegovy, by suppressing your appetite and signals your brain to make you feel full and satiated. This prevents overeating. Zepbound and Mounjaro appear to reduce more of the visceral fat around abdominal organs than some of the other weight loss injections and preserve more muscle mass.

All three weight loss injections listed here stabilize blood sugar through insulin production. This can make you feel less cravings, giving you better control over what and how much you eat.

Do they actually help you lose weight?

Yes, these injection drugs can cause significant and sustained weight loss when used correctly. Usually combined with a reduced calorie diet and an increase in physical activity.

There’s clinical evidence that liraglutide, the active ingredient in Saxenda, helps you lose significant weight sustainably, with the added, unique benefit of improving your glycemic levels.

Wegovy clinical trials found statistically significant weight loss results for participants when compared with a placebo group. The weight loss results were observed in participants irrespective of their age, gender, race, ethnicity and initial BMI.

Likewise, in a clinical study, people using Zepbound lost up to 20% of body weight over 72 weeks.

But it’s important to continue to practice the healthier habits mentioned above – eating healthily and exercising regularly – after finishing treatment to make sure that you don’t regain the weight you’ve lost during treatment.