Charles Barkley says he's lost 62 pounds on Ozempic competitor Mounjaro and hopes he'll now live longer

• Charles Barkley has lost over 60 pounds since taking the drug Mounjaro.
• He told Pat McAfee that the drug is "amazing" and his motivation is to live longer.

Charles Barkley said he's lost over 60 pounds since taking Ozempic competitor Mounjaro.

Speaking on "The Pat McAfee Show" on May 26, the NBA star, 60, said that a weekly shot of the drug, along with healthy diet and exercise, had helped him lose the weight over a six-month period.

Barkley said he started at 352 pounds and now weighs 290, and he hopes to reach 270 pounds.

"It's been great, I'm starting to feel like a human being not a fat-ass anymore," Barkley said, adding that his motivation is to live longer.

Mounjaro is similar to Wegovy and Ozempic

Mounjaro is the brand name for a drug called tirzepatide. It works similarly to semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Ozempic, for diabetes, and Wegovy, for weight loss. Ozempic has become the byword for semaglutide, regardless of why it's being taken.

Tirzepatide, like semaglutide, was designed to treat diabetes. A clinical trial found patients lost 20% of their body weight in 16 months while using tirzepatide, but the FDA has not yet approved it for weight loss although it can be used for this purpose off-label. Barkley didn't say in the interview if he was being treated for diabetes.

Barkley also didn't share if he was overweight or obese before starting on the drug to live longer, but an obesity expert previously told Insider that obesity can be life-threatening and those with more excess weight, particularly those who are severely obese, have a shorter life expectancy on average.

However, a person's weight alone doesn't determine their health, Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said, and other factors including their blood pressure and cholesterol levels give a fuller picture.

Asked what he knows about the medication, Barkley said he has "zero idea what the hell this drug does," but knows it's working.

"It's been amazing," Barkley said. "My doctor, she is amazing. I know a lot of people take Ozempic, but my doctor prefers Mounjaro."

Tirzepatide works similarly to semaglutide: Both suppress appetite by acting on a hormone called GLP-1, which controls appetite, so people taking the drug feel more full. Tirzapetide differs however by acting on another hormone related to insulin, called GIP, too.