Semaglutide efficacy and safety investigated for weight loss in Thai and South Korean adults with obesity

The global prevalence of obesity continues to rise, posing significant public health challenges including increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. While lifestyle interventions are foundational, pharmacological treatments are often necessary for sustained weight management. GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide have demonstrated substantial efficacy in weight loss in diverse populations. However, specific data on their effectiveness and safety in East Asian populations, such as those in Thailand and South Korea, are crucial to understand potential ethnic differences in response and optimize clinical guidelines.

This randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of semaglutide for weight management. Participants, adults from Thailand and South Korea with obesity (excluding those with diabetes), are randomly assigned to receive either semaglutide or a placebo. The intervention involves a once-weekly subcutaneous injection over a 50-week period. Participants also receive counseling on healthy food choices and physical activity. The primary endpoint is the change in body weight from baseline to the end of the study, with safety and tolerability as key secondary endpoints. The study involves 10 clinic visits and 8 phone calls, including 6 blood sample collections.

This abstract describes the design of a randomized controlled trial investigating semaglutide for weight loss, not its completed results. The primary objective is to evaluate the change in body weight from baseline to week 50 in participants receiving semaglutide compared to placebo. Secondary objectives include assessing safety and tolerability, as well as changes in other anthropometric and metabolic parameters. The study aims to provide crucial data on semaglutide's efficacy and safety specifically within East Asian populations, where obesity prevalence is rising. As this is a study description, no specific numerical findings, p-values, or fold-changes are available yet.

The core finding of this study, once completed, will be the percentage change in body weight from baseline to week 50 in the semaglutide arm versus the placebo arm.