Real-World Weight Loss With Semaglutide, Tirzepatide Less Than That Seen in Clinical Trials
THURSDAY, June 12, 2025 -- For patients with obesity initiating pharmacotherapy with semaglutide or tirzepatide, weight loss at one year is 8.7 percent on average, which is lower than the percentages reported from clinical trials, according to a study published online June 10 in Obesity.
Hamlet Gasoyan, Ph.D., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data to identify adults with overweight or obesity without type 2 diabetes who initiated injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide between 2021 and 2023. The authors sought to characterize changes in body weight and glycated hemoglobin through 12 months by pharmacotherapy discontinuation status. Treatment discontinuation was classified into early discontinuation and late discontinuation (within three months of index date and within three to 12 months).
The study included 7,881 patients: 6,109 and 1,772 received semaglutide and tirzepatide, respectively; 80.8 percent had low maintenance dosages. The researchers found that at one year, the mean percentage weight reduction was 8.7 percent, and it was 3.6, 6.8, and 11.9 percent with early discontinuation, late discontinuation, and nondiscontinuation, respectively. At one year, the mean absolute reduction in percent glycated hemoglobin was 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 with early discontinuation, late discontinuation, and nondiscontinuation, respectively.
"Our study shows that patients treated for obesity with semaglutide or tirzepatide lost less weight on average in a regular clinical setting compared to what is observed in randomized clinical trials," Gasoyan said in a statement. "According to our data, this could be explained by higher rates of discontinuation and lower maintenance dosages used in clinical practice, compared to randomized clinical trial settings."
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry; one author received fees from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Read this next
Diabetes Tied to Doubled Risk for Sepsis
FRIDAY, Sept. 26, 2025 -- People living with type 2 diabetes experience double the risk for incident sepsis versus matched individuals without diabetes, according to a study...
Clinical Practice Guidelines Issued for Diabetes Distress
THURSDAY, Sept. 25, 2025 -- The first clinical practice guidelines on assessment and management of diabetes distress among adults were presented at the annual meeting of the...
Oral Orforglipron Yields Greater Weight Reductions Than Placebo
THURSDAY, Sept. 25, 2025 -- For adults with obesity who do not have diabetes, the oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist orforglipron yields significantly greater...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.