Need help or have questions about your order? Call 510-991-8265Questions about your order? Call 510-991-8265

Sign InShop GLPs
Shop GLPs

GLP-1 statistics 2026: trial results, use and cost in numbers

By
Updated
23 linked public sourcesEditorial, sourcing, and corrections policy

Key numbers

  • -14.9%Mean body weight change on semaglutide 2.4 mg at 68 weeks in STEP 1 adultsSource: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, as cited 2026-11-10
  • 12%US adults who said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug (KFF poll)Source: kff.org, as cited 2026-11-10
  • 64.8%Adults without type 2 diabetes who stopped GLP-1 drugs within one yearSource: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, as cited 2026-11-10
  • 56%US adults who had ever taken a GLP-1 drug and said these drugs were hard to affordSource: kff.org, as cited 2026-11-10
  • almost $9 billionUS Medicaid gross GLP-1 spending before rebates in 2024Source: kff.org, as cited 2026-11-10

This page collects published GLP-1 numbers in one place: trial results, FDA label figures, and US government and foundation data. Each figure is tied to its source and date. It was last updated on November 10, 2026. Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) acts on both GIP and GLP-1 receptors and is included here because it is commonly grouped with GLP-1 medicines.

Weight loss in trials

  • In the STEP 1 trial of 1961 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes, those taking semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly plus a lifestyle intervention for 68 weeks had a mean change in body weight of -14.9%, compared with -2.4% on placebo (Source: NEJM, STEP 1, March 2021).
  • In STEP 1, 86.4% of participants taking semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly lost 5% or more of their body weight at week 68, compared with 31.5% on placebo (Source: NEJM, STEP 1, March 2021).
  • In STEP 1, 50.5% of participants taking semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly lost 15% or more of their body weight at week 68, compared with 4.9% on placebo (Source: NEJM, STEP 1, March 2021).
  • In the SURMOUNT-1 trial of 2539 adults with obesity or overweight and no diabetes, the mean percentage change in weight at week 72 was -15.0% on tirzepatide 5 mg weekly, -19.5% on 10 mg and -20.9% on 15 mg, compared with -3.1% on placebo (Source: NEJM, SURMOUNT-1, July 2022).
  • In SURMOUNT-1, 50% of adults on tirzepatide 10 mg weekly and 57% on 15 mg weekly lost 20% or more of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared with 3% on placebo (Source: NEJM, SURMOUNT-1, July 2022).
  • In the open-label SURMOUNT-5 trial of 751 adults with obesity and no type 2 diabetes, the least-squares mean percent change in weight at week 72 was -20.2% on tirzepatide (maximum tolerated dose, 10 or 15 mg weekly) and -13.7% on semaglutide (maximum tolerated dose, 1.7 or 2.4 mg weekly) (Source: NEJM, SURMOUNT-5, July 2025).
  • In the open-label STEP 8 trial of 338 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes, the mean weight change at week 68 was -15.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly and -6.4% on liraglutide 3.0 mg daily, while pooled placebo was -1.9% (Source: JAMA, STEP 8, January 2022).
  • In the STEP 5 trial of 304 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes, the mean change in body weight at week 104 was -15.2% on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly and -2.6% on placebo (Source: Nature Medicine, STEP 5, October 2022).

Dr. Meghan on how long GLP-1 weight loss takes

Dr. Meghan argues that the first month on a GLP-1 medicine is mainly about letting the body adjust and seeing how strong the side effects are, so little or no weight loss then is not cause for panic. She says most people start to see steady weight loss by the second month, though the trend often zigzags with plateaus, and that is normal. She notes that the specific medicine, medical history such as thyroid problems or diabetes, and other medicines can change how quickly weight comes off. In her view, if someone has not lost at least five percent of body weight after staying at the maximum dose for about three months, it is time to check labs and consider alternatives.

Who is speaking?

Dr. Meghan. Physician in internal medicine and obesity medicine, as she introduces herself on the channel Background

Episode notes and full video

Blood sugar and diabetes prevention

  • Among 1032 SURMOUNT-1 participants with obesity and prediabetes followed for 176 weeks, 1.3% in the tirzepatide groups (5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg weekly) received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, compared with 13.3% on placebo (Source: NEJM, SURMOUNT-1 three-year analysis, March 2025).
  • In the open-label SURPASS-2 trial of 1879 adults with type 2 diabetes, the change in glycated hemoglobin at 40 weeks was -2.01 percentage points on tirzepatide 5 mg, -2.24 on 10 mg and -2.30 on 15 mg, compared with -1.86 on semaglutide 1 mg (Source: NEJM, SURPASS-2, August 2021).

Heart outcomes

  • In the SELECT trial of 17,604 adults aged 45 or older with preexisting cardiovascular disease, a BMI of 27 or greater and no history of diabetes, death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal heart attack or nonfatal stroke occurred in 6.5% of those on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly and 8.0% on placebo over a mean follow-up of 39.8 months (Source: NEJM, SELECT, December 2023).

Side effects and stopping because of side effects

  • In the clinical trials behind the Wegovy label, which treated 2,116 adults with 2.4 mg for up to 68 weeks, 73% of Wegovy injection patients and 47% of placebo patients reported gastrointestinal adverse reactions (Source: FDA label for Wegovy, revised June 2026).
  • In the Wegovy weight-reduction trials of up to 68 weeks, nausea was reported by 44% of adults on Wegovy injection and 16% on placebo (Source: FDA label for Wegovy, revised June 2026).
  • In the Wegovy weight-reduction trials of up to 68 weeks, vomiting was reported by 24% on Wegovy injection and 6% on placebo in the label's adverse-reaction table (the label's text gives 25%) (Source: FDA label for Wegovy, revised June 2026).
  • In three placebo-controlled trials of 2,116 adults treated with Wegovy 2.4 mg for up to 68 weeks, 6.8% of treated patients and 3.2% of placebo patients permanently stopped treatment because of adverse reactions (Source: FDA label for Wegovy, revised June 2026).
  • In the pooled Wegovy 2.4 mg trials of 68 weeks, hair loss was reported in 3.3% of treated patients (4% of women and 0.9% of men), compared with 1% on placebo (Source: FDA label for Wegovy, revised June 2026).
  • In two pooled placebo-controlled trials of 2,519 adults treated with Zepbound for up to 72 weeks, gastrointestinal adverse reactions occurred in 56% of patients at each dose (5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg), compared with 30% on placebo (Source: FDA label for Zepbound, revised August 2026).

Stopping and weight regain

  • In a 327-participant extension of STEP 1 that followed people for one year off treatment, those who had taken semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly regained 11.6 percentage points of lost weight by week 120, compared with 1.9 percentage points for placebo, in an exploratory analysis (Source: Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, STEP 1 extension, August 2022).
  • In the STEP 4 trial of 803 adults who finished a 20-week semaglutide run-in, mean body weight change from week 20 to week 68 was -7.9% with continued semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly and +6.9% after a switch to placebo (Source: JAMA, STEP 4, April 2021).
  • In the SURMOUNT-4 trial of 670 adults who finished a 36-week open-label tirzepatide lead-in (maximum tolerated dose, 10 or 15 mg weekly), mean percent weight change from week 36 to week 88 was -5.5% with continued tirzepatide and 14.0% after a switch to placebo (Source: JAMA, SURMOUNT-4, January 2024).
  • In an observational study of 125,474 US adults with overweight or obesity who newly started liraglutide, semaglutide or tirzepatide between 2018 and 2023, 64.8% of those without type 2 diabetes had stopped within one year, compared with 46.5% of those with type 2 diabetes (Source: JAMA Network Open, January 2025).
  • In a KFF poll of 1,350 US adults surveyed October 27 to November 2, 2025, 14% of adults who had ever used a GLP-1 medicine said they were no longer using it because of the cost (Source: KFF Health Tracking Poll, November 14, 2025).
  • In the same KFF poll, 13% of adults who had ever used a GLP-1 medicine said they were no longer using it because of side effects (Source: KFF Health Tracking Poll, November 14, 2025).

What people on Reddit report

Reddit accounts from people who stopped semaglutide, Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro or Zepbound, and what happened to their weight, food cravings and symptoms afterward.

oodja · Semaglutide

I'll be honest- I was on Wegovy for a year and lost 60 pounds, only to gain most of it back when I went off the drug.

Regained most of the weight after stopping Wegovy and said cravings returned hard during that time.

Read the source discussion

melnancox · Semaglutide

I've not gained back any weight. There's a little bit of food noise in the evening; but I'm doing great at ignoring it.

Stopped the drug and kept the weight off by keeping a gym routine, tracking food and drinking plenty of water.

Read the source discussion

HorrorStrawberry5626 · Semaglutide

But yes food nosie did come back for me as well but I just remind myself it's lying to me and being healthier is better than binge eating a whole pack of Oreos and a case of drpeper

Food cravings came back after stopping, and this person coped by reminding themselves the cravings were not reliable.

Read the source discussion

New_Tangerine_2589 · Semaglutide

I totally stopped and after about a week started to feel better. I'm planning on starting all over again at 0.25 and not going beyond 0.5.

Stopped the drug after severe bloating and nausea at a higher dose, and planned to restart at a much lower dose.

Read the source discussion

How common obesity and diabetes are in the US

How many people use GLP-1 medicines

  • In a KFF poll of 1,350 US adults surveyed October 27 to November 2, 2025, 12% said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug, either to lose weight or to treat a chronic condition (Source: KFF news release, November 14, 2025).
  • In the same KFF poll of 1,350 US adults, 18% said they had taken a GLP-1 drug at some point (Source: KFF news release, November 14, 2025).
  • In 2024, 26.5% of US adults with diagnosed diabetes used GLP-1 injectables, counted as any non-insulin injectable taken to lower blood sugar or lose weight (Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 537, August 2025).

Cost and coverage

HealthRX.com in numbers

How these numbers were collected

Common questions

How many people take GLP-1 drugs in the US?

In a KFF poll of 1,350 US adults surveyed October 27 to November 2, 2025, 12% said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug. The figure is self-reported.

What percentage of Americans are on GLP-1 drugs?

In the same KFF poll, 12% of US adults said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug, and 18% said they had taken one at some point.

How much weight do you lose on semaglutide 2.4 mg?

In the STEP 1 trial, adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes who took semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly for 68 weeks had a mean change in body weight of -14.9%, compared with -2.4% on placebo. Both groups also had a lifestyle intervention.

What percent of people lose weight on semaglutide?

In STEP 1, 86.4% of participants taking semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly lost 5% or more of their body weight at week 68, compared with 31.5% on placebo. At the 15% or more threshold, the figures were 50.5% and 4.9%.

What percentage of people get nausea from semaglutide?

In the Wegovy weight-reduction trials, nausea was reported by 44% of adults on Wegovy injection and 16% on placebo, according to the FDA label.

What percentage of people lose hair on semaglutide?

In the pooled Wegovy 2.4 mg trials of 68 weeks, hair loss was reported in 3.3% of treated patients, compared with 1% on placebo.

How many people stop taking GLP-1 medicines?

In an observational study of 125,474 US adults with overweight or obesity who newly started liraglutide, semaglutide or tirzepatide, 64.8% of those without type 2 diabetes and 46.5% of those with type 2 diabetes had stopped within one year.

How many people regain weight after stopping GLP-1 medicines?

In an extension of the STEP 1 trial, participants who had taken semaglutide regained 11.6 percentage points of lost weight by week 120, compared with 1.9 percentage points for placebo. The extension followed 327 people for one year off treatment.

Questions worth asking

Choose the questions you want to keep

What people actually ask

Has the cost of GLP-1 gone down?

No price trend is reported. US Medicaid gross spending on GLP-1s, before rebates, rose ninefold, from about $1 billion in 2019 to almost $9 billion in 2024. As of January 2026, 13 state Medicaid programs covered GLP-1s for obesity under fee-for-service, down from 16 in October 2025. In a KFF poll, 56% of adults who had ever taken a GLP-1 drug said these drugs were difficult to afford.

Why are people stopping Wegovy?

Reasons for stopping Wegovy specifically are not reported. For GLP-1 medicines in general, a KFF poll found that 14% of adults who had ever used one stopped because of cost, and 13% stopped because of side effects. In the Wegovy label trials, 6.8% of treated patients permanently stopped treatment because of adverse reactions, compared with 3.2% on placebo.

What are the statistics on weight loss with GLP-1 medications?

In STEP 1, adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes who took semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly for 68 weeks had a mean weight change of -14.9%, compared with -2.4% on placebo. In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide 15 mg weekly for 72 weeks gave a mean change of -20.9%, compared with -3.1% on placebo. The trials differ in population and length, so their results are not head-to-head comparisons.

References

  1. Reddit participants. Did you gain after Stopping? (r/Semaglutide). Accessed 2026-11-11.
  2. Reddit participants. Quitters- why did you stop? (r/Semaglutide). Accessed 2026-11-11.
  3. Weight Medicine with Dr. Meghan MD. Weight Loss Takes How Long on GLP-1? Obesity Doctor. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Evidence overview for GLP-1 statistics 2026: trial results, use and cost in numbers