Surgical weight loss methods surpass Ozempic in a startling head-to-head evaluation.
Chillax, Buddies: Here's the Scoop on Weight Loss drugs vs. Surgery
Tossing around weight loss solutions? Former FDA commissioner, David Kessler, dishes the truth on GLP-1 weight loss drugs, 'toxic fat', and the crucial role of your relationship with food on 'Fox & Friends Weekend'.
Bet you didn't know weight-loss surgery kicked GLP-1 drugs' butt by five times! The bombshell comes from a recent study presented at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington.
Researchers sifted through electronic medical records of 51,085 patients at NYU Langone Health and NYC Health + Hospitals. Patients had either gone under the knife (sleeve gastrectomy or Roux en-Y gastric bypass) or were nipping and tucking with injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide between 2018 and 2024.
What's the deal with weight-loss surgery being five times more effective than GLP-1 drugs? Simple, surgery patients lost an average of 58 pounds while GLP-1 prescriptions yielded only a measly 12 pounds. Boo, GLP-1 drugs.
So what gives, you ask? Surgical weight loss clocked in at a whopping 24% of total weight loss compared to 4.7% for those needle-happy with GLP-1 prescriptions. Rough fairytale, right?
Clinical trials report weight loss anywhere from 15% to 21% for GLP-1s, but this study claims real-world weight loss is far less, even for dutiful drug takers for a whole year.
A bummer, huh? Well, up to 70% of GLP-1 prescriptions get axed within a year, according to research. This discontinuation leaves little time for those drugs to produce the desired transformation.
GLP-1 patients need to reconsider their expectations, keep up with their treatments, or swing into metabolic and bariatric surgery for satisfying results. But fear not, gurus plan to drill down on strategies to boost GLP-1 success and determine which patients might benefit more from the surgery lane.
Are you hitting the books for your next health quiz? Here's a fun factoid: Nearly 70% of Americans have tried GLP-1 drugs, while a mere 6% are currently dabbling. Sounds about right, yes? But knuckle down: Over half of GLP-1 users ditch their prescriptions after a year, with 72% chucking them after two years.
Not crazy about the slicing and dicing involved in bariatric surgeries? Fret not, because only 1% of patients undergo these procedures each year, according to ASMBS.
Grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded this study, but Novo Nordisk, the Ozempic and Wegovy manufacturer, has gone mum on the topic.
Reporters over at our website Digital gave the researchers and Eli Lilly (the Mounjaro and Zepbound creator) a holler, but nada's been heard back yet. Stay tuned!
Melissa Rudy, our senior health editor and lifestyle team member at our website Digital, is on the beat for the latest health scoop. Tips can be fired to [email protected].
- In the realm of health-and-wellness, medical-conditions like obesity are often addressed through therapies-and-treatments such as GLP-1 weight loss drugs, but a recent study suggests that surgery may be five times more effective for weight loss.
- Nutrition plays a crucial role in weight management, and research shows that surgery patients lost an average of 58 pounds, while GLP-1 prescriptions only yielded a 12-pound weight loss on average.
- With over half of GLP-1 users discontinuing their prescriptions after a year, and only 1% undergoing bariatric surgeries each year, the conversation surrounding weight loss, science, and medical-conditions continues to evolve.
