Ozempic vs Mounjaro for Weight Loss in Malta: An Honest Comparison

Last reviewed by the Carisma Medical Team — 2026

Yvonne, 47, came to her consultation at Carisma Slimming in Malta with a printed comparison she had made herself — Ozempic on one side, Mounjaro on the other. She had highlighted the clinical trial numbers, circled the side effects, and written question marks beside the cost columns. Her doctor smiled and said it was one of the best-prepared consultations she had seen in a long time.

Yvonne had been trying to lose weight since her early forties — the years when her metabolism seemed to quietly rearrange itself without her permission. Diets that had worked before stopped working. The weight was no longer just uncomfortable; it was affecting her knees, her sleep, and her energy at work. She had heard about GLP-1 medications from a colleague, done her research, and arrived not asking if she should try one, but which one.

That question — Ozempic vs Mounjaro for weight loss Malta — is exactly what this article is here to answer.

Yvonne's approach was the right one. Curious, informed, and ultimately deferring to clinical judgement. That is the spirit in which this comparison is written.

Key Takeaways - Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are both prescription GLP-1 medications for weight loss - Mounjaro activates two receptors (GLP-1 + GIP) vs Ozempic's one, producing higher average weight loss in trials - Neither medication is a self-prescribing choice — medical eligibility, history, and supervision matter - Both work best as part of a clinically supervised programme, not as a standalone prescription - Results may vary for each individual — a clinical consultation finds the right fit for your health picture

What Ozempic and Mounjaro Actually Are

Both medications belong to a class of treatments that work by mimicking natural hormones your body already produces — hormones that regulate hunger, metabolism, and blood sugar. Neither is a stimulant. Neither is a crash diet in injection form. They are medically prescribed tools that change the physiological conditions in which weight loss happens.

Semaglutide: the GLP-1 option

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic (and in Wegovy, the formulation specifically licensed for weight management). It is a GLP-1 receptor agonist — meaning it mimics glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone secreted naturally by your intestinal cells after eating.

In a clinically supervised setting, semaglutide works by acting on appetite-regulating centres in the brain (specifically the arcuate nucleus in the hypothalamus), slowing gastric emptying so you feel fuller for longer, and stimulating insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent way. The result: reduced caloric intake over time through appetite suppression, without requiring willpower alone to achieve it.

Ozempic was originally approved for type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance management. It has subsequently been studied extensively for weight management, with the weight-focused formulation (Wegovy, semaglutide 2.4mg weekly) approved by the EMA.

Tirzepatide: the dual GLP-1 and GIP option

Tirzepatide — sold as Mounjaro — is a newer molecule. It activates not one but two incretin receptors simultaneously: the GLP-1 receptor and the GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor. GIP receptors are found in adipose tissue and the central nervous system as well as the pancreas, meaning tirzepatide targets hunger and metabolic rate through an additional biological pathway.

The EMA granted Mounjaro approval for chronic weight management in adults with obesity (BMI ≥30) or overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity in November 2023, following the results of the SURMOUNT clinical programme.

To read more about GLP-1 medications and how our programme uses them, visit our GLP-1 Medical Weight Loss Programme page.

How the Mechanisms Differ

Single pathway vs dual pathway

The simplest way to understand the difference: semaglutide activates one receptor. Tirzepatide activates two.

Both reduce appetite. Both slow gastric emptying. Both improve insulin sensitivity. The difference is that tirzepatide's additional GIP receptor activation appears to produce additive or even synergistic effects — further suppressing appetite and influencing how adipose tissue processes energy, above and beyond what GLP-1 alone achieves.

What that means for appetite and metabolism

In practice, the dual mechanism may explain why tirzepatide produces greater average weight loss in clinical trials (more on that below). The GIP component is also thought to improve tolerability of GLP-1-mediated effects and contribute independently to metabolic outcomes, including reduced fat storage in adipose tissue.

That said, mechanism alone does not determine the right choice for any individual. A stronger average effect in a population study does not mean Mounjaro is automatically the better choice for you. Medical history, cardiovascular risk profile, current medications, tolerance, and local availability all factor into the decision your healthcare provider will make with you.

Weight Loss Results: What Clinical Trials Show

This is where the data matters — and where honesty matters more than enthusiasm.

Average weight lost on Ozempic

The landmark STEP-1 trial (Wilding et al., NEJM 2021) studied semaglutide 2.4mg weekly in 1,961 adults without type 2 diabetes over 68 weeks. Participants in the semaglutide group achieved a mean body weight reduction of 14.9%, compared with 2.4% in the placebo group. Notably, 86.4% of semaglutide participants achieved at least 5% body weight reduction, and 69.1% achieved at least 10%.

In adults with type 2 diabetes (STEP-2), mean weight reduction was 9.6% — lower than in the non-diabetic population, which is consistent with the metabolic complexity of that group. STEP-3, which combined semaglutide with intensive behavioural intervention, showed 16.0% mean weight reduction — the highest result in the programme.

Average weight lost on Mounjaro

The SURMOUNT-1 trial (Jastreboff et al., NEJM 2022) studied tirzepatide in 2,539 adults without type 2 diabetes over 72 weeks. Mean body weight reduction was 15.0% at 5mg, 19.5% at 10mg, and 20.9% at 15mg, compared with 3.1% in the placebo group. At the 15mg dose, 89% of participants achieved at least 5% weight loss, and 56.7% achieved at least 20% weight loss — a threshold previously unachievable with any approved anti-obesity medicine.

In SURMOUNT-2 (Garvey et al., Lancet 2023), adults with type 2 diabetes achieved 12.8% (10mg) and 14.7% (15mg) body weight reduction — again, lower than the non-diabetic population but clinically meaningful.

A head-to-head comparison — the SURMOUNT-5 trial (2024, NEJM) — directly compared tirzepatide with semaglutide 2.4mg in adults with obesity without type 2 diabetes. Tirzepatide produced approximately 47% greater weight loss than semaglutide at 72 weeks.

Why individual results vary significantly

The averages above describe populations. Individual results depend on starting weight, metabolic health, adherence, dietary quality, physical activity, and how each person tolerates and responds to the medication. Results may vary for each individual — and this is not a disclaimer to ignore. It is the honest clinical reality.

Some people achieve results above the trial averages. Others achieve less. That is why ongoing medical supervision — monitoring progress, adjusting doses, identifying barriers, and supporting the lifestyle changes that amplify outcomes — matters as much as the prescription itself.

Beyond the number on the scale, women in medically supervised programmes consistently report outcomes that matter just as much: walking to the end of the road without their knees aching, sleeping through the night without breathlessness, carrying a week's shopping from the car to the kitchen in a single trip, fitting into a seatbelt on an airplane without an extension. These are the wins that change daily life.

Side Effect Profiles: Similarities and Differences

Shared side effects (nausea, GI upset)

Both medications share a broadly similar side effect profile, driven by their GLP-1 activity. The most common effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation. These typically peak in the early weeks of each dose escalation step and subside as the body adapts.

In STEP-1, nausea and gastrointestinal effects were the most common reasons for discontinuation with semaglutide, though the majority of participants managed side effects with slow titration.

Both medications are started at low doses and increased gradually over weeks and months — specifically to allow the body to adapt and minimise discomfort. In a clinically supervised programme, your clinical team monitors side effects at each review and can adjust the titration schedule if needed.

Rare but important risks with both medications include gallbladder disease (cholelithiasis) and, in people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), both medications are contraindicated. A thorough medical history at consultation exists precisely to identify these factors.

Where Mounjaro differs

In the SURMOUNT-1 trial at the 15mg dose, nausea was reported in approximately 40-45% of participants, vomiting in approximately 25%, diarrhoea in 17-23%, and constipation in 20-24%. Fatigue was reported in approximately 13%. These numbers are somewhat higher than those observed at lower doses and in semaglutide trials, though direct head-to-head tolerability comparison is complicated by different trial designs.

What the clinical evidence does suggest is that the slower titration schedule for tirzepatide (starting at 2.5mg and increasing every four weeks) is effective at reducing side effect burden — and that most side effects, when they occur, are manageable and temporary.

Injection site reactions (mild redness or nodule) occur in approximately 5-7% of tirzepatide participants.

Cost and Availability in Malta

What to expect for each medication

Both semaglutide and tirzepatide require a prescription in Malta and across the EU. Neither is available over the counter, and neither should be sourced outside of a licensed medical or pharmacy setting.

Availability has fluctuated for both medications in recent years due to high demand. Your clinical team at Carisma Slimming will advise on current local availability at the time of your consultation, as supply situations change.

Cost is an important practical consideration and one that your doctor should discuss with you openly. Both medications are ongoing treatments — not short courses — and the cost commitment is a real factor in planning. A medically supervised programme also involves consultation fees, monitoring, and support, which are part of the full picture.

We recommend coming to your consultation prepared to discuss your budget honestly. The goal is to find the approach that is both clinically appropriate and sustainable for your life — not to prescribe the most expensive option by default.

To explore all medically supervised slimming options available in Malta, visit our weight loss overview page.

Which One Is Right for You?

Questions your doctor will use to guide the decision

When a doctor at Carisma Slimming considers which medication is appropriate for you in the context of Ozempic vs Mounjaro for weight loss Malta, the conversation typically includes:

Your medical history — type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, sleep apnoea: all influence eligibility and choice • Your cardiovascular risk profile — semaglutide has established cardiovascular outcome data from the SUSTAIN-6 and SELECT trials; tirzepatide has the SURPASS-CVOT programme. For patients with significant cardiovascular history, this evidence base matters. • Your current medications — interactions and compatibility need assessment • Your previous experience with similar treatments, if any • Your tolerance profile — some people tolerate one medication class better than another, and clinical judgement accounts for this • Local availability and practical access at the time of prescribing

Why this is not a self-prescribing choice

Both Ozempic and Mounjaro require prescription for good reason. The eligibility criteria — BMI ≥30, or BMI ≥27 with at least one weight-related comorbidity — exist because these medications have real physiological effects that need monitoring. Contraindications are real. Side effects are real. And the evidence consistently shows that outcomes are best when medication is part of a supported, clinically supervised programme rather than a standalone intervention.

Arriving to your consultation well-informed, as Yvonne did, is an advantage. Arriving having already decided which medication you need, without medical input, is a risk. Let the clinical conversation be a dialogue, not a transaction.

The Role of Medical Supervision Regardless of Which You Choose

Here is the truth that clinical trials consistently confirm: both semaglutide and tirzepatide work best as part of a structured programme. They are not magic. They change the hormonal environment in which you make choices about food and activity — but those choices still matter.

The STEP-3 trial, which combined semaglutide with intensive behavioural intervention, achieved 16% mean weight loss — higher than semaglutide alone. The behavioural component is not decorative. It is additive.

At Carisma Slimming, medically supervised weight loss means more than a prescription. It means a doctor who knows your history, a team that monitors your progress, nutritional guidance that works with your medication (adequate protein — typically 1.2 to 1.6g per kilogram of body weight per day — is particularly important during GLP-1 treatment to protect lean muscle mass), and support when the process plateaus or gets hard.

It also means that if you reach a point where your progress stalls, someone is there to investigate why — whether that means reassessing your dose, reviewing your bloodwork (thyroid function, cortisol, sex hormones all affect weight loss), or adjusting your support plan.

Results may vary for each individual — but the quality of the programme around the medication is one of the factors most within your control.

To take the first step, book a free consultation at Carisma Slimming and speak with our clinical team about which option is right for you.

FAQs About Ozempic vs Mounjaro for Weight Loss in Malta

Is Mounjaro stronger than Ozempic for weight loss?

Clinical trial data suggests tirzepatide (Mounjaro) produces greater average weight loss than semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) — the SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head trial found approximately 47% greater weight loss with tirzepatide at 72 weeks. However, "stronger" does not automatically mean "better for you." Your individual medical history, cardiovascular profile, tolerance, and current health status all influence which medication your healthcare provider will recommend. A medication that produces slightly less weight loss on average but is better tolerated or better suited to your health picture may be the right choice. This is exactly the conversation your clinical consultation is for.

Can I switch from Ozempic to Mounjaro in Malta?

Switching between GLP-1 medications is possible and does happen in clinical practice — for example, if one is not producing the expected response, is poorly tolerated, or becomes unavailable. However, switching is a medical decision that requires review of your current dose, your progress to date, your tolerance profile, and the appropriate starting dose for the new medication. It is not something to attempt without guidance. If you are currently on semaglutide and are curious whether tirzepatide might be more suitable for you, bring that question to your next consultation rather than making any changes independently.

Which has fewer side effects — Ozempic or Mounjaro?

Both medications share a similar GI side effect profile driven by their GLP-1 activity: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation are the most common, typically peaking in the early weeks of dose escalation and improving with time. Some clinical data suggests tirzepatide at higher doses has a slightly higher incidence of GI effects than semaglutide, though head-to-head comparisons are complicated by different trial designs. For both medications, slow titration — increasing dose gradually over months — is the most effective way to minimise side effects. In a medically supervised programme, your clinical team adjusts the titration schedule if side effects are problematic.

Is Ozempic approved for weight loss in Malta?

Ozempic (semaglutide) was originally approved for type 2 diabetes management. The weight-management formulation — Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4mg weekly) — has received EMA approval for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with a weight-related comorbidity. In Malta, prescribing is subject to EU regulatory frameworks and local prescribing guidance. Your doctor at Carisma Slimming will advise on current approved indications and the specific formulation appropriate for your situation at the time of your consultation, as regulatory and availability details evolve.

Are both Ozempic and Mounjaro available at Carisma Slimming?

At Carisma Slimming, our clinical team works with both semaglutide and tirzepatide as part of our medically supervised GLP-1 programme. Availability at any given time is subject to national supply and regulatory status, which can fluctuate. When you come to your consultation, your doctor will discuss which options are currently available and clinically appropriate for you. We will never recommend a medication based on what is in stock — only on what is right for your health.

Do I need a separate prescription for each medication?

Yes. Both Ozempic and Mounjaro are prescription medications. Each requires a valid prescription from a licensed prescriber, based on a medical assessment of your eligibility. If you switch between medications, a new prescription is required. In Malta, as across the EU, these medications cannot legally be dispensed without a prescription, and they should not be sourced from unregulated online suppliers. A medically supervised programme provides ongoing prescriptions as part of the structured support — your clinical reviews are also the point at which any changes to your medication are assessed and documented.

You Don't Have to Choose Alone

If you have made it to this part of the article, you are probably a lot like Yvonne. You have done your research. You have questions. You want to make the right decision rather than just the popular one.

That is the best starting point there is.

The question of Ozempic vs Mounjaro for weight loss in Malta does not have a universal answer — it has your answer, arrived at through a clinical conversation that takes your whole health picture into account. What we can tell you is this: at Carisma Slimming, our clinical team in Malta has that conversation with you properly. Not rushed. Not scripted. Not a sales pitch for one option over another.

You deserve support that fits your life, your health history, and your goals. You deserve a team that monitors how you are doing, adjusts when needed, and is genuinely invested in your progress — not just your prescription.

Book your free slimming consultation at Carisma today. Picture yourself eight weeks from now, climbing stairs without thinking about it, sleeping better, moving more freely, with a clinical team you trust and a plan that is genuinely working. That version of your life is not a fantasy. It is where we start.

With you every step, Katya

Image Credits

Hero Image URL: https://images.pexels.com/photos/7659873/pexels-photo-7659873.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940 • Photographer: Thirdman • Pexels Page: https://www.pexels.com/photo/doctor-consulting-a-patient-7659873/ • Alt text: Doctor consulting a patient about Ozempic vs Mounjaro for weight loss Malta in a warm, welcoming medical setting • Caption: Getting personalised medical guidance is the first step — a clinician can advise which GLP-1 medication is right for you. • Filename: doctor-patient-consultation-ozempic-mounjaro.jpg

Inline Image URL: https://images.pexels.com/photos/4148914/pexels-photo-4148914.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940 • Photographer: Gustavo Fring • Alt text: Confident woman holding a bowl of fresh vegetables, embracing a healthy lifestyle