{"id":37149,"date":"2022-10-01T06:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T06:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/?post_type=diabeteshealth&p=37149"},"modified":"2026-05-27T02:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:05:58","slug":"saxenda-vs-victoza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/diabetes-health\/saxenda-vs-victoza\/","title":{"rendered":"Saxenda vs Victoza: What’s The Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Keeping track of all the different drugs and brand names for diabetes medications can be overwhelming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these newer medications can be very effective at lowering your blood sugar levels and even helping you lose weight, keeping them all straight can be a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add to the potential confusion, some of these drugs have the same active drug name but different brand names. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at one example of a drug with two different brand names – Saxenda vs Victoza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Saxenda?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda is the brand name for liraglutide, an injectable medication used to treat obesity for people 12 years and older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a medication that can treat type 2 diabetes. Unlike other brand names of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Victoza, Ozempic<\/a>, and Trulicity<\/a>, Saxenda isn\u2019t intended to treat type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FDA approved Saxenda in 2014 as a weight loss medication. Saxenda is approved for adults with a BMI over 27 and children aged 12-17 over 132 pounds and considered obese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda is for daily use with a maximum dose of 3 milligrams. It\u2019s sold as a prefilled injectable pen and should be injected into subcutaneous tissue such as your abdomen, thigh, or back of your forearm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Victoza?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Victoza is a brand name for the medication liraglutide, just like Saxenda. Unlike Saxenda, Victoza is approved to treat type 2 diabetes and isn\u2019t a weight-loss medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victoza is a once-daily injectable medication that comes in prefilled pens like Saxenda. Victoza pens can administer doses of 0.6 milligrams, 1.2 milligrams, or 1.8 milligrams, with typical doses being 1.2 and 1.8 milligrams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"how<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are Saxenda and Victoza the same?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda and Victoza contain the same active drug ingredient of liraglutide but are approved for different uses. They also come in different dosages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might seem a little confusing, and rightfully so. When drugs are approved to be used in humans, they must have an intended diagnosis to treat, such as to treat type 2 diabetes or obesity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some drugs can be approved to treat multiple conditions, but they must obtain separate FDA approvals before they can be marketed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GLP-1 receptor agonists like Saxenda and Victoza help boost levels of GLP-1, a type of hormone that helps boost satiety and reduce appetite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levels of GLP-1 can be altered in people who are overweight or obese, which can lead to increased appetite<\/a> and weight gain (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides their primary method of action of increasing levels of GLP-1, Saxenda and Victoza can also cause weight loss by delaying gastric emptying. The longer food stays in your stomach before it empties into your intestines, the less hungry you\u2019ll feel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might also experience weight loss with medications like Saxenda and Victoza due to side effects like nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite, which can cause you to eat less than you normally do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uses of Saxenda vs Victoza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda is used to treat children (aged 12 and older) and adults who are considered overweight or obese based on their height and weight. Saxenda isn\u2019t meant to treat type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you take Saxenda to lose weight and also take a diabetes medication, you might be at greater risk of developing low blood sugar<\/a>. You should inform your healthcare provider of any blood sugar-lowering medication you take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victoza is meant to be used in children aged 10 and above as well as adults with type 2 diabetes. Victoza isn\u2019t meant to treat type 1 diabetes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"glyco<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda vs Victoza effectiveness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda and Victoza are meant to treat different conditions. While obesity and type 2 diabetes are often associated, the drugs aren\u2019t necessarily interchangeable for a person with diabetes who is also overweight or obese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda effectiveness for weight loss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to a study, three out of five people (60%) taking Saxenda achieved a weight loss of 5% or more, which equates to an average of 12 pounds lost from their baseline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One out of three people (33%) taking Saxenda experienced a weight loss of 10% or more, around 23 pounds lost on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is rarer, around 6% of people taking Saxenda lost over 20% of their initial body weight, the equivalent of about 47 pounds on average. All of these results occurred over 56 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are certain foods to avoid while taking Saxenda<\/a> that you may want to cut out or limit in order to maximize potential weight loss. This includes sugary drinks and greasy or fatty foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victoza\u2019s effectiveness for lowering blood glucose & weight loss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to a 52-week study, Victoza reduced participants\u2019 A1cs by 0.84% with a dose of 1.2 milligrams and by 1.14% with a dose of 1.8 milligrams (2). For comparison,  a popular medication called glimepiride (a sulfonylurea) only reduced A1c by 0.51% at an 8-milligram dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s not intended to be used solely as a weight loss drug, Victoza might also result in weight loss<\/a> for some people who take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a study on patients without diabetes, <\/strong>Victoza resulted in an average weight loss of 11\u201316 pounds over 20 weeks, which was more than the patients receiving orlistat, a weight loss medication (2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthy lifestyle changes are effective at lowering blood sugar in addition to medications. There are certain foods to avoid while taking Victoza<\/a> that you may want to consider cutting out in order to maximize its effectiveness at reducing your blood sugar, such as cutting back on refined carbohydrates and starchy foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which works better, Saxenda or Victoza?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because Saxenda and Victoza aren\u2019t meant to treat the same conditions, we can\u2019t linearly compare their effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we look at weight loss results in the previous section, Saxenda appears more effective at producing more significant weight loss than Victoza. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the studies cited in the previous section used different periods (56 weeks for Saxenda vs 20 weeks for Victoza). Therefore, we can\u2019t know for sure how the two drugs compare in their weight loss effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of use for Saxenda vs Victoza<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda and Victoza are both meant to be injected daily using a pen injector. Pen injectors are convenient because you can more easily choose and administer the correct dose than drawing up medication using a vial and syringe, such as with some types of insulin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Saxenda and Victoza are injectable medications, they aren\u2019t suitable for people who cannot safely administer their injections or those with needle phobias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Saxenda vs Victoza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxenda may provide more significant weight loss vs Victoza, which is its main benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there aren\u2019t studies on Saxenda for treating diabetes since it\u2019s not approved for that use. Victoza is proven to be effective at lowering blood sugar levels, especially when compared to oral diabetes medications like sulfonylureas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarities and differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similarities between Victoza and Saxenda:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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