Long-Term Wegovy Study Reveals Weight Loss Plateau After One Year
A comprehensive, extended study of the weight-loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) discovered that individuals typically experienced weight reduction during the initial 65 weeks of treatment—approximately one year and three months—before reaching a plateau or “set point.” However, the early weight loss was generally sustained for up to four years as participants continued receiving the weekly injections.
SELECT Trial: Key Findings
The results, published Monday in Nature Medicine, originate from a new analysis of data from the SELECT trial, which aimed to investigate the drug’s impact on cardiovascular health. The trial, a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, specifically included individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease who were also overweight or obese but did not have diabetes. The trial involved 17,604 participants from 41 countries, with 72% being male, 84% being white, and an average age of about 62 years old.
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Cardiovascular Benefits and Weight Loss Trajectories
In the previous year, researchers published the trial’s primary results, demonstrating that semaglutide reduced participants’ risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular-related deaths by 20 percent over a period slightly exceeding three years.
The new analysis, with even longer follow-up of the same participants, concentrated on their weight-loss trajectories and endpoints. Individuals taking semaglutide experienced a steady decline in weight over the first 65 weeks of treatment before reaching a plateau. Nonetheless, the initial weight loss was maintained through 208 weeks (four years) of follow-up. On average, participants taking the drug lost 10.2 percent of their weight, while the placebo group lost only 1.5 percent, resulting in an 8.7 percent treatment difference.
Comparison to Previous Trials and Limitations
The weight loss observed in this study is less than what has been reported in other trials of semaglutide. In 2021, researchers published a study in The New England Journal of Medicine showing that participants on the drug lost 14.9 percent of their weight, while those on a placebo lost 2.4 percent—a treatment difference of 12.5 percent.
Researchers behind the SELECT trial, funded by Wegovy’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, speculate that the differences in trial designs may account for the variation in weight loss. The earlier trial was designed to study weight loss in individuals specifically aiming to lose weight and who also tended to be younger than those in the SELECT trial. In addition to semaglutide treatment, the older trial included other lifestyle interventions to support weight loss. In contrast, the SELECT trial participants were not explicitly seeking to lose weight and did not receive any additional lifestyle interventions for weight loss.
Despite these differences, researchers observed clinically meaningful weight loss across both sexes, all body sizes, and geographic regions. Among the individuals who received semaglutide, 52.4 percent moved into a lower category of body mass index during the trial, compared to just 15.7 percent of the placebo group. Furthermore, in the semaglutide group, the proportion of people with obesity decreased from 71 percent to 43.3 percent, while the placebo group saw a smaller reduction from 71.9 percent to 67.9 percent.
The study has limitations, most notably that it primarily enrolled older white males, which may limit the generalizability of the weight-loss findings. However, the authors conclude that the study supports the widespread use of semaglutide in individuals with cardiovascular disease who are also overweight or have obesity. The next pressing question researchers must address is how long people will need to continue taking this effective but currently expensive medication.
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
1 Comment
Wegovy’s not just a quick fix but a marathon buddy for your weight loss journey!