The pill version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy may be the best GLP-1 option for people looking to drop recently gained weight, according to an early analysis of real-world data.

Reviewing data on 3,011 patients with a prescription for oral Wegovy and a follow-up weight recorded within 180 days, researchers found that patients ​who had recently gained weight were far more likely to be super-responders – defined as losing more than 10% of their starting body weight during treatment.

Oral ​Wegovy was approved in the US in December of last year. None of the patients in the current study had previously ⁠used other GLP-1 products.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a 30-year-old who recently in the last five years gained significant weight, or you’re a 60-year-old or a 90-year-old ​that in the last five years gained significant weight, you’re far more likely within months to reverse those five years of body weight gain” than if your weight gain ​trajectory extends further back into the past, said study leader Venky Soundararajan of data analytics firm nference.

Wegovy pill “super-responders” weighed less than non-responders at the start of treatment, averaging 207 pounds versus 224.21 pounds (94.1 kg versus 101.7 kg), according to a report posted online, opens new tab but not yet peer-reviewed.

The researchers also found that super-responders were more likely to have escalated to a dose above the 1.5-milligram starting dose ​by day 60.

In addition, as patients continued taking the pills, their blood pressure improved significantly, with reductions directly correlated with the amount of body weight loss.

The authors ​emphasize that their findings do not prove cause and effect. Rather, they say, their results should prompt more rigorous studies to test whether pre-treatment weight trajectory is truly a predictor of response.