Weight loss over time

The size of the change matters. So does the point at which the trial measured it.

STEP 1 at 68 weeks

STEP 1 enrolled 1,961 adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes. The study gave once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo; at week 68, mean body-weight change was −14.9% versus −2.4%. Those are trial-group averages from baseline, reported for that study population.

The magnitude earns my respect. A result like this carries an argument before anyone decorates it with a superlative. Yet the time point is equally useful: the result describes a long stretch of observation. I won't compress it into an expectation for the opening month.

The plate below uses the same scale for both trial groups. It stops where the reported comparison stops.

Bars compare mean weight decreases of 14.9% and 2.4% in STEP 1 at week 68 — Mean changes from baseline: −14.9% with semaglutide and −2.4% with placebo, at week 68 in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes. STEP 1 source.

STEP 5 at 104 weeks

STEP 5 found sustained, clinically meaningful weight loss over 104 weeks with once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg compared with placebo in adults with overweight or obesity. Here the follow-up is the attraction. I prize the extra distance because a weight-loss account ought to have room for time as well as magnitude.

The finding concerns continued treatment during the trial. It leaves the after-treatment question open in this folio. I have no neat finish line to offer, and a personal timetable would demand far more than the result reported here.

Paired painted views show the same prairie fence in green and dormant grass — An illustrated seasonal pair for elapsed time, rather than a record of a trial location.

The direct tirzepatide comparison

SURMOUNT-5 compared tirzepatide with semaglutide in 751 adults with obesity over 72 weeks. Mean weight change was −20.2% with tirzepatide and −13.7% with semaglutide; the difference was statistically significant, with P<0.001. The semaglutide study dose was 2.4 mg once weekly.

The practical question of access belongs beside the weight comparison for me. Semaglutide access at mypromise.com requires a prescription from a licensed Promise Peptides clinician.

For this weight outcome in this trial, tirzepatide performed better. I won't soften the finding just because the name on this folio is semaglutide. Nor will I declare a winner on every health outcome from a weight comparison. The cardiovascular and kidney trials measured other things, in their own populations.

Treatment burden also deserves space alongside the weight result. The side-effects folio takes up that part of the account.