18.4% Additional Loss With Tirzepatide After a Lifestyle Program
SURMOUNT-3 studied tirzepatide after participants had first completed an intensive lifestyle program and lost at least 5% of body weight. The result reflects additional average loss under that trial structure, not a stand-alone prediction for a general online-care program.
From randomization to week 72, average weight change was −18.4% with tirzepatide and +2.5% with placebo.
In the treatment-regimen analysis, 87.5% of tirzepatide participants achieved at least 5% additional weight loss from randomization, compared with 16.5% of placebo participants. The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal and were mostly mild to moderate.
Turn the study result into a better program comparison
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Study details
- Population
- 579 adults with obesity or overweight plus a weight-related complication, excluding diabetes, who had already lost at least 5% during a 12-week intensive lifestyle intervention
- Follow-up
- 72 weeks after a 12-week lifestyle lead-in
- Treatment comparison
- Once-weekly tirzepatide at a maximum tolerated dose of 10 mg or 15 mg compared with placebo for 72 weeks after the lifestyle-intervention lead-in
- Study design
- Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
A study result is not a personal treatment plan
The study started after an intensive 12-week lifestyle lead-in and used trial-specific eligibility and follow-up. It does not establish whether a person can receive a prescription, how a specific provider structures care, or whether coverage and medication availability will match the study conditions.
Compare GLP-1 programsWhat this result does not show
- Participants completed an intensive lifestyle intervention and had already lost at least 5% before randomization.
- The 18.4% figure is additional average loss from randomization, not total loss from the beginning of the lifestyle lead-in.
- The study excluded diabetes and does not compare telehealth providers, care plans, price, or medication sourcing.
- The study was funded by Eli Lilly; the primary paper and disclosures are linked at the end of this article.
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Primary peer-reviewed source
Read the full paper, methodology, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and supplementary materials before drawing conclusions beyond this plain-English summary.
Read the study at Nature Medicine