The FDA (Federal Drug Administration) has approved of Wegovy (semaglutide) for weight loss in 2021. Three large clinical trials showed it to be superior to placebo in helping weight reduction.
The STEP trial, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2021, compared semaglutide to placebo in 803 obese study participants. Patients taking semaglutide were found to weigh almost 15% less than patients taking placebos, after 48 weeks of injections. Waist sizes shrank, blood pressures went down, and fitness improved in the semaglutide group as well. The researchers concluded that a once-a-week injection was effective for weight loss.
The PIONEER trial was reported in the journal (Diabetes Care) in 2019. It included 703 randomized patients. Weight loss was significantly higher in patients taking semaglutide compared with those given placebo.
In 2017 the journal Lancet reported on the SUSTAIN trial of semaglutide versus placebo for weight loss. A total of 387 participants were randomly assigned to receive semaglutide weekly for 30 weeks. Those receiving .5 mg of semaglutide per week lost 3.73 kg on average, and participants receiving 1.0 mg of semaglutide per week lost an average of 4.53 kg, both greater than losses seen in placebo patients.
After reviewing all three trials, in June of 2021 the FDA approved Wegovy (semaglutide) for use as an adjunct to diet and exercise for weight loss.
How can I get a Wegovy prescription?
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