People using the popular weight-loss medicine semaglutide may continue eating much less food even after taking the drug for more than a year, according to a new study.
The research, led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders and Penn Metabolic Medicine, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Semaglutide belongs to a group of medicines that copy the action of a natural hormone called GLP-1.
This hormone helps control blood sugar, slows stomach emptying, and sends signals to the brain that reduce appetite.
The medicine is widely used to treat obesity because it can help people lose a large amount of weight when combined with healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Many people notice that their hunger drops sharply during the first few months of treatment. However, some patients later feel that hunger slowly returns and worry that the medicine has stopped working. The new study suggests that this is not necessarily true.
The trial included 120 adults who had overweight or obesity. Participants received either a weekly 2.4-milligram dose of semaglutide or a placebo injection. Everyone also received regular lifestyle counseling to encourage healthy eating habits and exercise.
At the beginning of the study and again after 20, 40, and 60 weeks, participants completed a laboratory test lasting five hours. After eating the same breakfast, they were offered lunch and told to eat until they felt comfortably full. Researchers carefully measured how many calories each person consumed.
The results showed that people taking semaglutide consistently ate far fewer calories than those receiving placebo. Throughout the follow-up visits, they consumed about 24% to 30% fewer calories. This lower calorie intake continued through week 60, even though some feelings of hunger had returned.
Weight loss also remained much greater in the semaglutide group. After 60 weeks, participants taking the medicine had lost an average of 15.1% of their starting body weight. Those receiving placebo lost only about 3.4% on average.
The researchers also asked participants about hunger, fullness, appetite control, and how often they thought about food, sometimes called food noise. During the first 20 weeks, semaglutide clearly reduced hunger and food-related thoughts. By weeks 40 and 60, however, these differences became much smaller, even though calorie intake stayed lower.
Lead author Jena S. Tronieri explained that people may notice some return of appetite without losing the medicine’s ability to reduce how much they eat. Senior researcher Thomas A. Wadden said this difference between how people feel and how they actually eat is important for setting realistic expectations.
This study provides encouraging evidence that semaglutide can continue supporting long-term weight management by helping people consume fewer calories, even after the strongest appetite-suppressing effects become less noticeable. However, the study involved only 120 participants, and longer studies are still needed to understand the medicine’s effects over many years.
Overall, the findings support current recommendations that semaglutide should be used as a long-term treatment alongside healthy lifestyle changes rather than as a short-term solution.
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