A Research Study to See How Semaglutide Helps People With Excess Weight, Lose Weight (STEP UP)

Brief summary (registry, in English)

This study will look at how much weight participants will lose from the start to the end of the study. The weight loss in participants taking the investigational high dose of semaglutide will be compared to the weight loss in people taking "dummy" medicine and a lower dose of semaglutide. In addition to taking the medicine, participants will have talks with study staff about healthy food choices and how to be more physically active. Participants will either get semaglutide or "dummy" medicine. Which treatment participants get is decided by chance. Participants are more likely (4 out of 5) to get semaglutide than the "dummy" medicine. The study medicine will be injected briefly, under skin, with a thin needle, typically in the stomach, thighs, or upper arms. In the first part of the study, participants will get one injection once a week until they reach the planned dose. The second part of the study, which might last a couple of months, is a transition period, where participant will get three injections, taken right after each other, once a week. The duration of the study intervention (trial product and lifestyle intervention) will be 72 weeks followed by a 9-week follow-up period without study interventions.

What you commit to

• Study type: Interventional · Phase 3
• Participants enrolled: 1407
• From Jan 2023 to the primary completion date, Oct 2024
• 107 sites in 12 countries
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (107)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

Related publications

• Effect of Semaglutide on Thigh Skeletal Muscle Volume, Fat Infiltration and Physical Function in People With Obesity: Secondary Analysis of STEP UP.Diabetes Obes Metab · 2026 · PMID 42764399