Perspectives

How does this study impact clinical practice?

• The SURMOUNT-1 study has implications for the current obesity treatment paradigm.
• It is predicted that 48.9% of people in the US will be obese by 2030 – and 24.2% will be severely obese (BMI ≥35).
• Obesity is a multisystem disease that has traditionally been ignored, but over 100 diseases are the direct result of an increase in body fat.
• There has been little progress in anti-obesity medications, but new understanding of the underlying pathophysiology may change this, with obesity increasingly recognized as a chronic disease.
• The magnitude of medical weight loss seen with tirzepatide is unprecedented, and this potential new pharmacologic option may help rapidly close the treatment gap in this patient population.