Weight Loss Clinical Trials 2022
Browse 62 Weight Loss Medical Studies Across 53 Cities
2 Phase 3 Trial · 76 Weight Loss Clinics
What Are Weight Loss Clinical Trials?
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires you to be at your ideal weight according to your body mass index (BMI). Losing weight is also not an immediate process; it takes time and relies on healthy eating habits and physical activity for long-term management.
Overweight people are at an increased risk of developing serious diseases and health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, and overall poor quality of life.
Many weight loss clinical trials focus on drug therapies to treat weight loss or develop healthy eating and physical activity programs to combat weight gain.
Why Is Weight Loss Being Studied Through Clinical Trials?
According to the CDC, nearly three-quarters of the American population is overweight or obese, and nearly 160 million Americans are on a diet anytime. Moreover, Americans spend approximately $70 million on weight-loss plans and supplements. Not to mention being overweight is a major health hazard, and even a total of 5 to 10% weight loss can contribute to health benefits like improved blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugars.
What Are The Types of Treatments Available For Weight Loss?
Research on weight loss and obesity is ongoing. Currently, weight loss clinical trials focus on using drugs to help regulate appetite and hunger signaling. Therapeutic interventions have shown two new drugs, semaglutide and tirzepatide, to reduce body fat successfully.
In this, semaglutide is an anti-diabetic drug formulated as an injectable solution for subcutaneous administration. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, participants who were administered 2.4mg of semaglutide once weekly reduced body fat.
Tirzepatide is a similar drug that showed significant results in a 72-week trial. The participants with obesity were given 10mg or 15mg of tirzepatide once weekly and showed a continuous reduction in body weight.
What Are Some Recent Breakthrough Clinical Trials For Weight Loss?
There have been several landmark studies involving weight loss in recent years. Some of the most recent studies are:
2021: Healthy Weight Loss Maintenance - in this study, participants with obesity who did not have diabetes were enrolled in an 8-week low-calorie diet and were assigned 4 random strategies, such as a moderate-to-vigorous–intensity exercise program plus placebo (exercise group); treatment with liraglutide (3.0 mg per day) plus usual activity (liraglutide group); exercise program plus liraglutide therapy (combination group); or placebo plus usual activity (placebo group). In the end, 195 participants had a mean decrease in body weight of 13.1 kg.
2020: Drug Therapy in Obesity - this study focuses on using sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, amylin mimetics, leptin analogs, ghrelin antagonists, and centrally acting agents to suppress appetite. However, sufficient evidence is lacking in the routine use of these drugs.
Who Are Some Of The Key Opinion Leaders / Researchers / Institutions Conducting Weight Loss Clinical Trial Research?
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
NIDDK conducts clinical trials to identify new ways to prevent, detect, or treat overweight and obesity. The studies include identifying new drugs, the role of bacteria and metabolism, and physical activity in treating and managing obesity.
About The Author
Michael Gill holds a Bachelors of Science in Integrated Science and Mathematics from McMaster University. During his degree he devoted considerable time modeling the pharmacodynamics of promising drug candidates. Since then, he has leveraged this knowledge of the investigational new drug ecosystem to help his father navigate clinical trials for multiple myeloma, an experience which prompted him to co-found Power Life Sciences: a company that helps patients access randomized controlled trials.