Tirzepatide reduces appetite, food cravings without increasing dietary restraint
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Key takeaways:
- Adults receiving tirzepatide reduced their energy intake more than those receiving liraglutide.
- Reductions in appetite and food cravings were greater with tirzepatide vs. liraglutide.
DALLAS — Adults with overweight or obesity receiving tirzepatide have a decrease in appetite, food craving and other eating behaviors, according to a speaker at ObesityWeek.
In a phase 1 trial, participants were randomly assigned to once-weekly tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Eli Lilly), once-daily liraglutide (Saxenda, Novo Nordisk) or placebo. Adults receiving tirzepatide had reductions in appetite and craving for most foods compared with those receiving liraglutide.
“The results from the study demonstrated that tirzepatide significantly reduced body weight and appetite while not increasing dietary restraint,” Corby K. Martin, PhD, FTOS, professor and director of the Ingestive Behavior, Weight Management and Health Promotion Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, told Healio. “Dietary restraint typically increases when people try to lose weight since they must consciously attempt to reduce food intake. In this case, food intake and weight were dramatically reduced, and restraint did not change meaningfully. This is unique, particularly when compared to traditional weight-loss diets, where restraint frequently increases. The findings from this study suggest that people taking tirzepatide were able to eat much less and lose weight, possibly without much cognitive effort.”
Martin and colleagues conducted a phase 1, parallel-arm randomized controlled trial enrolling 114 adults with overweight or obesity. Participants were randomly assigned, 1:1:1, to once-weekly tirzepatide, once-daily liraglutide or placebo for 6 weeks. Doses of tirzepatide and liraglutide increased during the trial. An ad libitum food intake test was conducted at lunch at baseline, 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Questionnaires were administered to measure appetite, food cravings, disinhibition, hunger, dietary restraint, susceptibility to food environment and impulsivity.
At 3 weeks, the tirzepatide group had a mean 532.4 kcal decrease in energy intake compared with a 299.3 kcal decrease in energy in take for the liraglutide group and 7.9 kcal energy intake reduction for placebo. At 6 weeks, the tirzepatide group had a reduction of 657.8 kcal per day in energy intake compared with placebo, whereas the liraglutide group had a reduction of 314.5 kcal from baseline and the placebo group had an increase in energy intake of 28.3 kcal.
Compared with placebo, the tirzepatide group had greater reduction in appetite and reduced food cravings for all types of food except fruits and vegetables. Tendencies to overeat and impulsivity were reported less in the tirzepatide group vs. placebo at 6 weeks. Adults receiving tirzepatide also had greater increase in ability to resist palatable foods in a food-abundant environment compared with placebo.
Adults receiving tirzepatide had a greater decrease in appetite, state cravings and cravings for sweets compared with those receiving liraglutide at 6 weeks. Disinhibition and perceived hunger were higher in the tirzepatide group than liraglutide.
“People taking tirzepatide can expect significant and rapid weight loss that is accompanied by dramatic reductions in food intake and appetite,” Martin said.
Martin added that more studies are needed to better understand how tirzepatide reduces appetite and food intake.
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Martin C, et al. Oral-085. Presented at: ObesityWeek; Oct. 14-17, 2023; Dallas.
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