How much weight can you lose on Wegovy?

Wegovy is a game changer when it comes to weight loss for people with overweight or obesity, but just how much weight can you actually use on this medication? We spoke with Dr. Yael Cooperman, MD about what the science says.

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In clinical trials of Wegovy, trial participants lost around 16% of their body weight after about 16 months of treatment combined with diet and exercise. Participants using the placebo lost about 2% of their body weight in the same trial. But results won’t be the same for everyone. Some people lose more or less weight than that. Factors that affect how much weight you lose include whether or not you have type 2 diabetes, what dosage you’re on, how much excess weight you had to begin with, and whether or not you adhere to lifestyle modifications, such as diet and exercise while using the medication.  

People who have type 2 diabetes, for example, tend to lose less weight on Wegovy in a given year than those without diabetes. Also, the amount of weight a person loses while using Wegovy depends on their dosage. Typically, the maximum “maintenance” dose of Wegovy—2.4 mg each week—leads to more significant weight loss than lower doses. 

You can put your current weight into the calculator below to understand how much weight, on average, you might expect to lose after 16 months of treatment with Wegovy:

*In a 68- and 72-week clinical trial studying Wegovy (2.4 mg) and Zepbound (15 mg) in patients without diabetes and with BMI ≥30, or BMI ≥27 with a weight-related condition, the average weight loss was 15% and 20%, when paired with diet and exercise changes (compared to 2.4% and 3.1%, respectively, with diet and exercise alone).

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Every article on Health Guide goes through rigorous fact-checking by our team of medical reviewers. Our reviewers are trained medical professionals who ensure each article contains the most up-to-date information, and that medical details have been correctly interpreted by the writer.

Current version

December 01, 2023

Written by

Yael Cooperman, MD

Fact checked by

Felix Gussone, MD

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About the medical reviewer

Felix Gussone, MD, Ro

Felix Gussone is a physician, health journalist and a Manager, Medical Content & Education at Ro.