These Are the Most Effective Ways to Treat Obesity, Study

• New research found that behavioral changes, surgery, or medications (like Ozempic) are the most effective treatment option for obesity.
• Among medication options, Mounjaro and Zepbound had “the greatest effect.”
• Experts noted that many of the most effective treatment options come with questions regarding accessibility of care that need to be discussed on a larger scale.

Not all obesity treatments are equally effective, a new study finds.

Obesity affects more than 40% of adults and 19% of children in the United States.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Obesity. Treatment options for obesity have changed and expanded rapidly—to the point where it can be confusing to keep up with what options are available.

These treatment options include popular prescription medications like Ozempic (semaglutide), Wegovy (semaglutide), and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

A new analysis published last month in JAMA pared down the best obesity treatments currently on the market.

“It’s been really surprising—over the past four, five years—how many medications are coming out,” Melanie Jay, MD, one of the report’s authors.

“The purpose of this review was to summarize the data in an accessible place, to synthesize the things we know,” she said.

To determine which treatments work best, Jay and her team reviewed more than 100 studies, randomized control trials (RCTs), and other articles.

Given the toll obesity takes on the U.S., advanced research on the condition is important.

Obesity has been linked to higher rates of heart disease—the leading cause of death in the U.S.—type 2 diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and premature death.

The new study also underscores the fact that obesity is a medical condition and should be studied as such.

“All this knowledge about obesity highlights how obesity really is a disease—it’s not about willpower; it’s not a moral failing,” said Jay, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Here’s how obesity treatments compare, as well as what other aspects of obesity still need to be studied.