Lilly reports Foundayo weight loss across menopause stages in ATTAIN analyses

On June 7, 2026, Eli Lilly presented analyses showing that women with obesity or overweight who took the highest dose of its once-daily oral GLP-1 pill Foundayo (orforglipron) lost weight at every stage of menopause. The results come from post-hoc analyses of more than 1,500 women enrolled in the ATTAIN-1 and ATTAIN-2 Phase 3 trials and were presented at the American Diabetes Association's 86th Scientific Sessions ^[1][2][3].

What the analyses found

At 72 weeks, women in ATTAIN-1 — adults with obesity or overweight who did not have diabetes — taking the 17.2 mg dose lost an average of 28.0 pounds (12.8%) if premenopausal, 30.4 pounds (14.4%) if perimenopausal and 28.2 pounds (14.1%) if postmenopausal. Their starting weights averaged 219.1, 217.6 and 208.6 pounds, respectively ^[1][2].

In ATTAIN-2, which enrolled adults with obesity or overweight plus type 2 diabetes, average losses on the same dose were 23.4 pounds (11.3%) for premenopausal women, 18.5 pounds (8.9%) for perimenopausal women and 27.8 pounds (13.6%) for postmenopausal women. Starting weights averaged 237.9, 209.7 and 202.2 pounds ^[1][2].

At the 17.2 mg dose, up to 51.5% of women in ATTAIN-1 and up to 44.2% in ATTAIN-2 lost at least 15% of their body weight ^[1][2][3]. Waist circumference dropped by up to 4.9 inches (12.5 cm) in ATTAIN-1 and up to 4.3 inches (11.0 cm) in ATTAIN-2 ^[1][2]. Lilly described waist circumference as a measure associated with reduced abdominal fat and cardiometabolic risk ^[1].

Lilly said menopause is "a major, yet often overlooked, driver of weight gain," and that hormonal changes during this time can speed fat accumulation around the abdomen ^[1]. Rachel Batterham, Lilly's senior vice president of medical innovation and external engagement, said weight gain in midlife "often feels beyond their control" and that the results show "meaningful weight loss in women at every stage of menopause" ^[1][3].

Foundayo was approved by the FDA on April 1, 2026, for adults with obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Its label says it can be taken once daily at any time of day without restrictions on food or water intake ^[1][3]. Lilly also makes Zepbound (tirzepatide), a different drug ^[1][2].

Limits and unknowns

These were post-hoc analyses, meaning menopause stage was not a question the trials were originally designed to answer ^[1][2]. The ATTAIN-2 groups were small — 10 premenopausal women, 33 perimenopausal women and 109 postmenopausal women — while ATTAIN-1 had 171, 142 and 152 women in those groups ^[1].

No placebo results by menopause stage were reported, so it is not known how much of the weight change came from the drug versus diet, exercise or other factors. Whether the differences between menopause stages were statistically significant has not been reported, and neither have dropout rates or side effects broken out by menopause stage.

Why it matters for patients

Menopause affects tens of millions of women in the U.S., and Lilly says menopausal status has rarely been studied as a factor in how well obesity treatments work ^[1]. These analyses offer stage-by-stage weight data from a large Phase 3 program for a group that is often pooled together in trial reporting.

Foundayo's label lists common side effects including nausea, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, indigestion, stomach pain, headache and hair loss, and warns of more serious risks including thyroid tumors, pancreatitis, gallbladder problems and low blood sugar when used with insulin or sulfonylureas. It should not be used with other GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines ^[1].

For perimenopausal readers, the label also states that birth control pills taken by mouth may not work as well during treatment, and that a health care provider may recommend another form of birth control for 30 days after starting Foundayo and after each dose increase ^[1].

Orforglipron is also being studied for type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, knee osteoarthritis pain, hypertension, peripheral artery disease and stress urinary incontinence. Timing for those results has not been disclosed ^[1].