| SUSTAIN FORTE, 2 mg weekly |
961 adults with type 2 diabetes; 40 weeks |
6.4 kg |
5.6 kg with 1 mg |
| STEP 1, 2.4 mg weekly |
1,961 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes; 68 weeks |
14.9% |
2.4% with placebo |
| Wegovy tablet study, 25 mg daily |
307 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes; 64 weeks |
13.6% |
2.4% with placebo |
| Wegovy 7.2 mg study |
1,407 adults with obesity, without diabetes; 72 weeks |
18.8% |
15.5% with 2.4 mg; 3.9% with placebo |
The best-known of these figures, the 14.9% average loss in STEP 1, came from semaglutide 2.4 mg, the Wegovy dose, taken with lifestyle support by adults without diabetes over 68 weeks. It is often attached to Ozempic, but it describes a different dose, population and brand. When semaglutide was compared directly with [tirzepatide](/guides/semaglutide-vs-tirzepatide), the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, in the SURMOUNT-5 trial, average losses at 72 weeks were 13.7% and 20.2%, respectively.
### What is Ozempic's success rate?
There is no single success rate, because success can mean reaching a blood-sugar target, losing a set share of body weight or avoiding a heart attack. For weight, a common benchmark is losing at least 5% of starting weight. In STEP 1, 86.4% of participants taking semaglutide 2.4 mg reached it at 68 weeks, compared with 31.5% of those on placebo. That is the result of a defined trial endpoint, not the probability that any individual will reach a personal goal.
### What happens after two years on semaglutide?
With continued treatment, weight loss largely held. In STEP 5, 304 adults without diabetes were randomly assigned to semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo, both with behavioral support. After 104 weeks, average weight loss was 15.2% with semaglutide and 2.6% with placebo, and the semaglutide group's loss was similar at one and two years.
### Does the weight stay off after treatment stops?
Largely not. In the STEP 1 extension, participants regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost within a year of stopping semaglutide, at the same time as their structured lifestyle support ended. Set beside STEP 5, the result suggests that for many people semaglutide controls weight while it is being taken rather than resetting it permanently.
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### Why do people stop taking Ozempic and other GLP-1 medicines?
Many people stop, often within the first year. A U.S. records study of 125,474 adults who started liraglutide, injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide between 2018 and 2023 estimated that 64.8% of those without type 2 diabetes and 46.5% of those with it discontinued within a year, defined as going at least 60 days without medication on hand.
Where clinical notes recorded a reason, side effects and cost were the most common. Moderate or severe gastrointestinal side effects were linked with a higher chance of stopping, and greater weight loss with a lower one, although such associations cannot explain any individual decision. Stopping was not always permanent; the study also tracked people who later restarted.
### Is the weight lost all body fat?
No. In a 140-person STEP 1 substudy that measured body composition with DXA, a low-dose X-ray scan that separates fat from lean tissue, fat mass fell by 19.3% and lean mass by 9.7% with semaglutide. Lean mass includes organs and body water as well as muscle, so the figure is not a direct measure of muscle loss, and the substudy, published as a conference abstract, did not assess strength.
## What benefits extend beyond weight loss?
Semaglutide's clinical case rests on more than weight. Two large trials tested whether it prevents serious events in people who already have cardiovascular or kidney disease:
| Manufacturer list price |
\$997.58 per pen |
Before rebates, insurance or assistance |
| Self-pay offer, 0.25, 0.5 or 1 mg |
\$349 per month |
Eligible patients under the offer terms |
| Self-pay offer, 2 mg |
\$499 per month |
Eligible patients under the offer terms |
| Introductory offer, 0.25 or 0.5 mg |
\$199 per monthly fill for two fills |
Eligible new participants; advertised through December 31, 2026 |
The introductory price covers only two fills, so multiplying it by three does not give the cost of a three-month supply; that depends on the prescribed strength and the patient's own offer or insurance terms.
Access is where these threads meet. In KFF's 2025 survey, 56% of adults who had used GLP-1 medicines said they were difficult to afford. The chemistry of a long-acting peptide, the trial evidence and the commercial scale of Ozempic are well documented. Whether people can afford to stay on treatment long enough to keep its benefits is the less settled part of the story.
The [chart data](/data/guides/ozempic-chart-data.csv) reproduce the published values shown in the figures. When citing a statistic from this page, keep its product, population, period and measurement, and credit the original study. This page is a statistical reference, not prescribing advice.