Continuing Semaglutide Leads to Further Weight Loss

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Patients who lost weight with semaglutide and then kept taking the drug continued to lose weight, while those who switched to placebo regained much of the lost weight, according to an industry-conducted study in JAMA.

Roughly 800 adults who were overweight or obese (body-mass index: ≥30, or ≥27 with weight-related comorbidity) but without diabetes were given subcutaneous semaglutide for 20 weeks. During this time, patients lost a mean 11% of their body weight.

Then, patients were randomized to either continue semaglutide or switch to placebo until week 68 (all patients also received a lifestyle intervention). The group who continued semaglutide lost an additional 8% of their body weight, while the placebo group gained 7%. Gastrointestinal adverse events were more common with semaglutide (42% vs. 26% of placebo recipients).

The authors write: "Given the modest efficacy of currently approved pharmacotherapies, semaglutide may offer the potential to bridge the gap between behavioral and pharmacological options and bariatric surgery."