Wegovy (semaglutide) is a medicine used to help people lose weight and keep it off. It belongs to a group of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1s (GLP-1s).
If you have heart disease and are overweight, Wegovy can also help protect your health by lowering your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Since 2021, this medicine has been given as a weekly injection. But in 2025, a new version was approved that you can take as a daily oral tablet. This is the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss that also helps protect your heart. Wegovy should be used along with eating fewer calories and being more physically active.
How Does Wegovy Work?
Wegovy works by acting like a natural hormone in your body called GLP-1. This hormone tells your pancreas to release insulin when you eat and stops your liver from putting too much sugar into your blood. It also slows down how fast your stomach empties.
Because food stays in your stomach longer, you will likely feel full faster and stay full for a longer time. This makes it easier to eat less and lose weight. For people with heart disease, reaching a healthier weight may lower the risk of serious problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
Is Wegovy Right for Me?
Your health care provider will help you decide if Wegovy is a good choice for you. In studies, this medicine was tested in adults and children who are overweight or obese.
Health care providers often use a tool called Body Mass Index (BMI) to check your weight. BMI is a simple score based on your height and weight.
- For adults, a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a score of 30 or higher is considered obese.
- For children, health care providers use a growth chart to see if the BMI of a child is much higher than that of other children of the same age and sex.
It is important to know that BMI is not a perfect measurement. It doesn’t show how much of your weight is muscle and how much is fat. So, your health care provider will look at your overall health, not just your BMI number, to make a plan for you.
How Was Wegovy Studied?
The injectable form of Wegovy was studied for weight loss in several large clinical trials. The main weight loss trials included thousands of people who were either obese or overweight. In four studies, participants were randomly assigned to get Wegovy or a placebo that contained no medicine. The dose of Wegovy was increased over 16 weeks to a maximum dose of 2.4 mg injected under the skin once weekly. The maintenance dose was then given for 52 more weeks.
The tablet form of Wegovy was studied for weight loss in a trial of 307 adults. Participants were randomly assigned to get Wegovy or a placebo that contained no medicine. The dose of Wegovy was increased over 12 weeks to a maximum of 25 mg once daily. The maintenance dose was then given for 52 more weeks.
The injectable form of Wegovy was also studied among people with a history of heart attack, stroke, or peripheral arterial disease to see the impact of the medicine on major adverse cardiovascular events, which included heart attack, stroke, or death. Participants were randomly assigned to get Wegovy or a placebo that contained no medicine. The dose of Wegovy was increased over 16 weeks to a maximum of 2.4 mg injected under the skin once weekly.
What Benefits Were Seen With Wegovy?
In clinical trials, people using Wegovy either as an injection under the skin once weekly or as an oral tablet once daily achieved significant weight loss compared to those taking a placebo. Weight loss results shown in the table below are at Week 68 for the injection and at Week 64 for the tablet.
| Baseline Characteristics | Assigned Treatment | Loss of ≥ 5% Body Weight | Average Weight Loss |
Average age: 46 years (18 to 86 years) 74% female/26% male 75% White/13% Asian/6% Black | Wegovy injection | 83.5% | -14.9% |
| Placebo | 31.1% | -2.4% | |
Average age: 55 years (19 to 84 years) 51% female/49% male 62% White/26% Asian/8% Black | Wegovy injection | 67.4% | -9.6% |
| Placebo | 30.2% | -3.4% | |
Average age: 46 years (18 years or older) 81% female/19% male 76% White/2% Asian/19% Black | Wegovy injection | 84.8% | -16% |
| Placebo | 47.8% | -5.7% | |
Average age: 15 years (12 to <18 years) 62% female/38% male 79% White/2% Asian/8% Black/11% Other or Unknown | Wegovy injection | 73% | -16.1%* |
| Placebo | 18% | 0.6%* | |
Average age: 48 years (18 years or older) 79% female/21% male 92% White/1% Asian/7% Black | Wegovy tablet | 79.2% | -13.6% |
| Placebo | 31.1% | -2.2% |
*Percentage change in BMI from baseline to Week 68. All but one participant had a BMI in at least the 95th percentile.
Over about a three-year period, Wegovy reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes by 20% compared to placebo. The lowering of these events was not affected by race, age, or sex. Most of the 17,604 people in the trial were male (72%), and the average age was 62 years (range, 45-93 years). About 84% were White, 8% were Asian, 4% were Black, and 3% were of another race.
Your results may differ from those seen in clinical studies.
How Was Wegovy HD Studied For Weight Loss?
In the clinical studies described above, Wegovy was studied as an injection in doses up to 2.4 mg once weekly, or as a daily oral tablet. In 2026, the FDA approved a higher-dose injectable form called Wegovy HD, given as 7.2 mg once weekly. Below is a summary of how Wegovy HD was studied for weight loss, along with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity, and what the results showed.
Wegovy HD was studied in two 72-week studies. One study included 1,407 adults with obesity who did not have type 2 diabetes. The other study included 512 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to receive Wegovy HD 7.2 mg, Wegovy 2.4 mg, or a placebo as a once-weekly injection, and no one knew which treatment they received.
At the start of the studies, the average age was around 50 years and average body weight was 110 to 113 kg (about 243 to 249 pounds). About half to three-quarters were female, and most were White, with smaller numbers of Black or African American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino participants.
After 72 weeks, people who received Wegovy HD 7.2 mg once weekly lost more body weight than those who received placebo in both studies:
- In adults with obesity (but not diabetes), people who received Wegovy HD 7.2 mg lost about 15% more body weight on average than those who received a placebo.
- In adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, people who received Wegovy HD 7.2 mg lost about 10% more body weight on average than those who received a placebo.
In addition, people who used Wegovy HD (7.2 mg) lost more weight than people who used Wegovy (2.4 mg) in both studies.
Your results may differ from what was seen in studies.
How Can I Prevent and Manage Side Effects?
You will likely start Wegovy at a low dose to lower the chance of having certain side effects. Make sure that you tell your health care provider if you get nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, or stomach pain. If you have any of these side effects, your health care provider may wait to increase your dose longer than the usual four weeks for the injection or 30 days for the tablet. The dose that your health care provider may want you to take long-term may depend on how well you tolerate Wegovy. So, it is very important that you let them know about any side effects that you may get.
Because Wegovy slows down how fast your stomach empties, you may experience nausea or vomiting. If this happens, try these tips:
- Eat smaller meals more slowly.
- Avoid greasy, fried, or very sweet foods.
- Stick to plain foods such as crackers, toast, and rice.
- Do not lie down right after you eat.
- Stay hydrated by sipping clear liquids or eating soup and gelatin.
If you feel anything unusual, even if you aren’t sure it’s from the medicine, let your health care provider know. Your feedback helps make the medicine safer for everyone. For example, some people have reported a rare problem where the intestines stop moving food through the body. You do not need to be certain that something you experienced was caused by a medicine. If you experience anything that you think was caused by Wegovy, you can report it by calling 800-FDA-1088 or 833-934-6891.
What Types of Drug Interactions Can Happen?
Because Wegovy slows down your digestion, it can change how your body absorbs other pills you swallow. It may take longer for your other medicines to start working, or they may not work quite the same way.
Tell your health care provider about all medicines you take. This is especially important if you take a medicine that requires regular blood tests to check your levels. These levels may need to be monitored more closely while you are on Wegovy.
Wegovy helps manage your blood sugar. However, if you already take certain diabetes medicines, such as insulin or sulfonylureas, your blood sugar could drop too low. This is called hypoglycemia. If you have diabetes, tell your health care provider about all medicines you use for this condition before starting Wegovy. Check your blood sugar and tell your health care provider if your level goes too low. Always keep a quick source of sugar with you (such as glucose tabs, juice, or hard candy), especially when you first start using the medicine and if your dose is increased.
How Can I Get Wegovy?
Wegovy is an FDA-approved medicine made by Novo Nordisk. Compounded medicine is not FDA-approved and may include too much or too little medicine and dangerous or unneeded ingredients.
To get this medicine, you need a prescription from a health care provider. The drugmaker has information on its website to help you make sure that you get Wegovy made by the drugmaker Novo Nordisk through a state-licensed pharmacy.
Is There Any Cost Assistance Available?
The drugmaker offers many resources that may help you with the cost of Wegovy. Visit the drugmaker’s website to check your estimated cost with or without insurance. Some people with private insurance may be eligible for help with out-of-pocket costs through a Wegovy savings offer. If you have any questions about the information on the website, you may call 888-809-3942.
