Metabolic Health

Semaglutide Cuts Calories for a Full Year Even as Hunger Suppression Fades

A rigorous 60-week randomized controlled trial followed 120 adults with overweight or obesity taking semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo. Participants on semaglutide consistently ate roughly 240–295 fewer calories at a measured lab lunch across all time points — at 20, 40, and 60 weeks. Interestingly, the subjective feelings of reduced hunger and food preoccupation were only significantly different from placebo at the 20-week mark, not later. Yet caloric intake remained lower throughout. This suggests semaglutide's weight-loss maintenance isn't purely driven by consciously feeling less hungry — there may be deeper metabolic or behavioral mechanisms keeping energy intake down long after the initial appetite-suppressing effects plateau.