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CLINICAL TRIALS

The STEP 1 trial for weight loss: a step change in treating obesity?

Nature Medicine volume 27, pages 589–590 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

A new trial shows that adding the glucagon‐like peptide 1 analog semaglutide to diet and exercise leads to weight loss.

The trial enrolled people who were obese or overweight with other health problems, but without diabetes, to investigate whether a once-weekly injection of semaglutide, a glucagon‐like peptide 1 analog, caused weight loss, relative to a placebo injection, with either intervention complemented by dietary recommendations and physical activity. The results showed a mean loss in body weight of nearly 15% from baseline to week 68 in people randomly assigned to receive semaglutide, compared with about 2% for those randomly assigned to receive the placebo. The trial also showed that 86% of the people who received semaglutide lost at least 5% of their body weight, compared with 32% of those who received the placebo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Centre for Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Amanda I. Adler

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  1. Amanda I. Adler
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Correspondence to Amanda I. Adler.

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Competing interests

A.I.A. receives partial salary support from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

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Adler, A.I. The STEP 1 trial for weight loss: a step change in treating obesity?. Nat Med 27, 589–590 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01319-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01319-4

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