Does HRT Help With Weight Loss? A New Study Says It Boosts Zepbound

Hormone therapy isn’t a weight-loss drug. But a new Mayo Clinic study found postmenopausal women lost about 35% more on tirzepatide when they were also on HRT.

Postmenopausal women receiving hormone therapy who struggle with obesity and its related complications might have a new way to lose weight. A Mayo Clinic-led retrospective cohort study published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health found that taking tirzepatide, the FDA-approved active ingredient in the GLP-1 weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, for more than a year alongside hormone therapy, lost about 35% more weight than those taking tirzepatide alone.

The finding comes from a Mayo Clinic analysis of health records for 120 postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity (average age 56) who took tirzepatide for at least a year — 40 while also using hormone therapy, and 80 without it. This study is a meaningful step forward in the available options for women seeking help with weight loss, as prior studies have primarily focused on semaglutide, the active ingredient in the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

How Hormone Therapy Boosts Zepbound

The positive outcomes of concurrent use of hormone therapy and tirzepatide might offer a new option for women who feel like weight loss drugs don’t work as well for them.

Hormone therapy has been shown to help prevent abdominal fat accumulation and bone loss, which is partly why it is protective against cardiovascular disease, but it does not significantly affect total body fat mass or total lean body mass. This might be why some women might feel like losing weight postmenopause is more challenging.

Tirzepatide has been shown to improve glycemic control, the process of managing blood sugar, which is associated with weight reduction and vice versa. This is supported by the Lancet study, in which both groups, regardless of hormone therapy use, saw improvements in glycemia, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels. One-year tirzepatide treatment alone has been shown to reduce body weight by nearly 10%.

Should You Combine HRT and Zepbound?

Since a retrospective study can demonstrate an association, it doesn’t prove that the roughly 35% greater weight loss was caused by combining tirzepatide with hormone therapy. Therefore, consulting your doctor regarding the use of a tirzepatide drug while receiving hormone therapy is the optimal path forward.