Know the limits
A study average cannot predict your result.
A percentage can sound like a promise when the study around it disappears. Keep the people, time and comparison beside the result.
Myth to test
Will everyone get the weight change shown in a study?
Short answer
The weight-loss figures are group averages from a trial with regular visits and support around food and activity.
Read the comparison together
SURMOUNT-1 studied adults with obesity, or overweight and a related health problem, who did not have diabetes.
- A dummy shot, also called a placebo, provides the comparison without the study medicine.
- The drug maker supported this study.
Weight change in the study
Tirzepatide groups
At 72 weeks, the tirzepatide groups' average weight loss ranged from 15.0% to 20.9%.
Dummy-shot group
The dummy-shot group lost an average of 3.1% of starting weight.
Bar lengths show loss as a share of starting weight; the lighter end marks the range between tirzepatide groups.
Ask what the study can answer
A trial is a planned study in people. It tests a question under set conditions. Your visit has to connect those findings to your health.
- Were the study participants like me?
- Was the product studied the exact one being proposed?
- What was counted as a useful result?
- What else happened during the study besides taking the medicine?