Semaglutide for the People

Michael Calore: Is there a difference between how much weight men lose on these drugs and women lose on them?

Emily Mullin: Yeah. So I’m glad you pointed that out, because that does seem to be one of the indicators that people respond differently to these drugs. And what some of the clinical trials are showing is that women, for whatever reason, seem to lose more weight than men on these drugs. So one possible reason is that women just have a different fat composition than men. Another reason is that women, on average, are smaller than men, and so when you’re taking the same amount of a drug, and it has less places to go in the body, it’s maybe more effective than somebody who is bigger and has more weight on them.

Michael Calore: I see. So you can’t just take the drug and lose a bunch of weight without also making some other lifestyle changes, right?

Emily Mullin: Yeah, exactly. So in clinical trials of semaglutide and tirzepatide, just so that listeners are aware, semaglutide, we’re talking about Ozempic and WeGovy, and tirzepatide, talking about Mounjaro and ZepBound, those brand names. So in clinical trials, of course, these are very carefully designed, and people are taking these drugs alongside a very prescribed diet and exercise plan. So these are the ideal conditions of taking this drug. And of course, in real life people might not be following that quite as well. And another thing is, one of the experts I talked to, an endocrinologist, she very astutely pointed out that there are a lot of different reasons why we eat. We don’t just eat because we’re hungry, we eat because it’s a very social thing. And so if you are one of those people who are in a lot of situations where there are social temptations to go out and eat socially, or we eat just because the food tastes good. I think we can all relate to eating ice cream out of a tub or finishing off a bag of chips, not because we are actually hungry, but because it just tastes good.

Michael Calore: I eat because I’m sad or angry.

Emily Mullin: Maybe that’s a discussion for another podcast episode.

Kate Knibbs: I have a question, Emily, for you. Have you talked to any researchers who have been studying the differences in results between people who are taking brand name Ozempic or ZepBound, et cetera, and people who are taking compounded meds? Because that’s something that I’ve been trying to find out, and I haven’t found anyone who’s studying that yet.

Emily Mullin: Yeah, I haven’t run across that.

Michael Calore: Is anybody doing any research at all about any of the compound drugs, like their safety or the composition of them?

Kate Knibbs: Yeah, I’ve been trying to find studies that are specifically looking at the compounded versions, and it’s really hard. A lot of the more well-established telehealth clinics will have their own lab work done, and some of them will share it, but independent researchers, I don’t know. If any of them are listening, I highly encourage them to do it, because … And again, this is totally anecdotally, but of all of the people that I know on GLP-1 meds, the majority are on compounded medications.