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Exercise Added to Tirzepatide for Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity

Tests exercise plus tirzepatide against tirzepatide alone in adults with overweight or obesity.

Key facts

Who runs it
University of Virginia
Where
Charlottesville, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
The Effect of Exercise and Tirzepatide on Weight and Health Outcomes (EXER-MED)
Status
Not yet recruiting
Phase
Phase 3
People taking part
24 people, planned
Started
Aug 2026
Expected to end
Jun 2027
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Tirzepatide
  • Exercise
Record updated
6 May 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults aged 30 to 65 with overweight or obesity. It tests exercise together with the weight loss medicine tirzepatide, compared with tirzepatide alone.

Age
30 to 65 years
Sex
Men and women can join, including postmenopausal women.
Disease stage
Overweight or obesity. BMI 27-29.9 with an extra heart or metabolic risk factor (for example diagnosed high cholesterol or high blood pressure), or BMI 30-40 kg/m2.
Earlier treatment
Cannot have used weight loss medication in the last year, had weight loss surgery, or be in a diet or exercise program now.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Serious heart or blood vessel disease, or past heart attack or stroke
  • Type 1 or type 2 diabetes, or high blood sugar (fasting glucose >125 mg/dL (6.9 mmol/L) or HbA1C ≥6.5% (48 mmol/mol))
  • Very high blood pressure (systolic >160 mmHg and diastolic >100 mmHg)
  • Thyroid problems, treated or not
  • Pregnant or planning to become pregnant

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 24 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Men and women 30-65 years of age, postmenopausal women included
  • 27-29.9 with an additional CVD risk factor or 30-40 kg/m2
  • For overweight adults only: additional cardiometabolic risk factor (diagnosed dyslipidemia, hypertension)
  • Willingness and adequate health to go on weight loss medication
  • The capability and willingness to provide written informed consent
  • Approval of their primary care provider to go on weight loss medication

Who cannot take part

  • Previous history of myocardial infarction or stroke
  • Previous weight loss surgery
  • Use of weight loss medication within the last year
  • Including but not limited to serious arrhythmias
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Stroke or transient ischemic attacks
  • Peripheral vascular disease
  • Hospitalization for mental illness within the past 5 years or currently undergoing treatment for severe mental illness
  • Conditions that can be aggravated or are contraindicated by exercise training
  • Previous diagnosis or taking medication for type 1 or 2 diabetes, fasting glucose >125 mg/dL or HbA1C ≥6.5%
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure >100 mmHg
  • Plans to be out of town more than 3 weeks in the next 4 months
  • Currently pregnant or plans to become pregnant
  • Currently in a diet or exercise program
  • Non-compliance during screening or extreme difficulty in obtaining baseline blood samples
  • Enrolled in a different exercise program
  • hypo/hyper thyroid (medicated or unmedicated)

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 30 and 65 years old?

Where in United States

  • University of VirginiaCharlottesville, United StatesContact: Damon L Swift, Ph.D.Not yet recruiting

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

This is clinical trials is to evaluate the effect of exercise with weight loss medication compared to weight loss alone. The study will enroll 24 adults from 30-65 years old with overweight or obesity.

Read full original descriptionShow less

The main questions it will answer includes:

* Does exercise combined with weight loss medication reduce body weight and body fat more than weight loss medication alone * Does exercise combined with weight loss medication improve other risk factors more such as the sugar in the blood, cholesterol, fitness, and quality of life

Participants will:

* Take a weight loss medication (tirzepatide) monthly under the supervision of their primary care physician * (Exercise group only) Will perform exercise ~3 times a week at the University of Virginia). Walking on a treadmill and resistance training * Visit the study site at the beginning of the study and after the study to evaluate weight, body fat, and other health measures

The 2 groups in the trial

  • ExerciseTreatment being tested

    Participants will perform aerobic and resistance exercise while taking monthly tirzepatide for 16 weeks

    Treatment: Tirzepatide and Exercise

  • Standard CareExisting treatment, for comparison

    Participants will take monthly Tirzepatide under the care of their primary care provider for 16 weeks

    Treatment: Tirzepatide

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
The Effect of Exercise and Tirzepatide on Weight and Health Outcomes (EXER-MED)
Plain-language title
Exercise Added to Tirzepatide for Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or ObesityGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Fit questions
Built from NCT07298915, who can take part
Record updated
6 May 2026