Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Obesity

Tirzepatide differentially affects body weight in mice and humans

Subjects

Advances in biomedical research often result from a straightforward formula: a good working hypothesis, a set of dedicated investigators, and access to calorimetric chambers and a laboratory scale. The success of this approach has again been demonstrated in a new Cell Metabolism report showing that tirzepatide induces weight loss through partially distinct mechanisms in mice and humans.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Müller, T. D. et al. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). Mol. Metab. 95, 102118 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Ravussin, E. et al. Tirzepatide did not impact metabolic adaptation in people with obesity, but increased fat oxidation. Cell Metab. 37, 1060–1074.e1064 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Leibel, R. L., Rosenbaum, M. & Hirsch, J. Changes in energy expenditure resulting from altered body weight. N. Engl. J. Med. 332, 621–628 (1995).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Fothergill, E. et al. Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity 24, 1612–1619 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Gabery, S. et al. Semaglutide lowers body weight in rodents via distributed neural pathways. JCI Insight 5, e133429 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Petersen, J., Merrild, C., Lund, J., Holm, S. & Clemmensen, C. Lead-in calorie restriction enhances the weight-lowering efficacy of incretin hormone-based pharmacotherapies in mice. Mol. Metab. 89, 102027 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang, Q. et al. The glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) regulates body weight and food intake via CNS-GIPR signaling. Cell Metab. 33, 833–844.e835 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Samms, R. J. et al. GIPR agonism mediates weight-independent insulin sensitization by tirzepatide in obese mice. J. Clin. Invest. 131, e146353 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Wean, J. et al. Specific loss of GIPR signaling in GABAergic neurons enhances GLP-1R agonist-induced body weight loss. Mol. Metab. 95, 102074 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timo D. Müller.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Novikoff, A., Müller, T.D. Tirzepatide differentially affects body weight in mice and humans. Nat Rev Endocrinol 21, 462–463 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-025-01139-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-025-01139-3

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing