Juniper patients outperform clinical trial outcomes in world-first study

DOM publishes groundbreaking Juniper study

New research published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism has revealed real-world results from Juniper’s digital weight loss program in Australia. The data indicates that patients on Juniper’s program were more likely to lose weight, in less time, compared to clinical trials of the same treatment.

Juniper patients were twice as likely to lose at least 15% of their body weight, in less time, compared to the clinical trial of the same medication.

Understanding the results

Why did Juniper patients lose more weight?

• Clinical trials are designed to mitigate real-world challenges, therefore real-world outcomes aren’t typically as good
• However, these non-incentivised and self-directed Juniper patients outperformed the clinical trials of the same medication, with 25% of Juniper patients losing at least 15% of their body weight, compared to just 14% of patients in the clinical trial
• Notably, health coaching in the SCALE and ADDRESS trials was less intensive and personalised than the Juniper program
• This indicates that holistic, multidisciplinary support influences weight loss outcomes when using GLP-1 RA medication

The benefits of a multidisciplinary digital platform

While GLP-1s are a major step forward in tackling the obesity epidemic, they are no “silver bullet.” Medication should be paired with tailored  advice and holistic lifestyle change.

This research indicates that wrap-around digital services, including personalised health coaching and medical support increase the likelihood of patients seeing significant results on GLP-1 medication.

Integrated digital care models can help patients achieve better outcomes than medication alone as they overcome the many barriers to infrequent in-person care.

Juniper’s digital platform gives patients access to doctors, nurses, dietitians, health coaches and a wealth of education designed to encourage long-term behavioural change.

To our knowledge, this is the first peer-reviewed study to assess the effectiveness of a digital, real-world, GLP-1 RA-supported, weight-management program on a non-diabetic cohort.

While there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to weight loss, this study suggests that platforms like Juniper, which offer both clinical guidance from a team of healthcare professionals and support that caters to individual needs, can significantly influence weight loss results.

Data limitations

Within this study, a relatively high drop out rate was recorded. However, this is a common limitation of retrospective research on real-world chronic care interventions, as everyday challenges result in patients pausing their subscription and/or forgetting to upload data.

This study aimed to show how effective the program is for patients who reasonably adhere to the program. The data was self-reported by patients and excluded those who did not provide weight data in the specified windows.

To better understand patient adherence to Juniper’s program, we recommend viewing the results from our dedicated adherence study.

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