Triple dose of obesity drug safely improves weight loss outcomes: Study

Tripling the dose of semaglutide was found to significantly improve weight loss, along with related health outcomes, in two large-scale clinical trials.

The study involved Novo Nordisk’s obesity treatment on the effect of increasing the dosage from the approved 2.4 mg to 7.2 mg. On the higher dose, patients lost about 19 per cent of their body weight, compared to 16% on the lower dosage. The study was funded by Novo Nordisk and was conducted at 95 hospitals across 11 countries. The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

The trial comes at a time when the Danish pharmaceutical giant is looking to stay competitive against rival Eli Lilly, which sells weight loss drug tirzepatide as Mounjaro and Zepbound, has shown better results of 22.5 per cent weight loss in trials for its maximum approved dose.

What is semaglutide?

It’s an anti-obesity and anti-diabetic drug, which mimics the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone that regulates the secretion of insulin. It is sold as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes by Novo Nordisk.

Trial results

The trial, which involved over 1,400 participants, was conducted between January 2023 and November 2024. The participants were assigned dosages of 7.2 mg, 2.4 mg dose or placebo for 72 weeks.

In those without diabetes, the 7.2 mg dose resulted in an average weight loss of 19 per cent, compared to 16 per cent with 2.4 mg, and 4 per cent among those on placebo. Similarly, among adults with diabetes, the 7.2 mg dose resulted in an average weight loss of 13 per cent, compared to 10 per cent for 2.4 mg and 3.9 per cent in the case of placebo.

Notably, more than half of the participants on the higher dose lost 20 per cent or more weight. They also experienced better blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, along with waist circumference.

But is the higher dose safe?

The higher dose was found to be safe; Although side effects such as nausea, diarrhoea, and tingling were more commonly reported. However, the side effects were found to be manageable.

Why are people quitting weight loss drugs?

Despite weight loss and diabetes management, many people are quitting the drugs. In a study presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), in Vienna, it was found that about half of the participants without diabetes on the weight-loss drug semaglutide quit the treatment within a year.

Multiple factors have a role to play here, such as age. The researchers found that a larger number of younger individuals, between the ages of 18 and 29, are quitting the treatment.

Income, too, has a role, as the drugs are costly. It was also found that men are more likely to discontinue the treatment compared to women.

Then, people with cardiovascular disease or other chronic conditions were found to be 10 per cent more likely to quit. Similar was the case with those with a history of psychiatric medications who were found to be 12 per cent more likely to discontinue the treatment. The problem is that after quitting, the patients end up regaining the weight.