A secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial, released in the Obesity journal and provided at the European Congress on Obesity 2023, has found that semaglutide is efficient in dealing with obesity in adolescents. Nearly half (45%) of the individuals treated with semaglutide handled to lose enough weight to be categorized listed below the weight problems cutoff, and about three-quarters (74%) experienced a drop in at least one body mass index (BMI) category. At week 68, 74% of individuals on semaglutide had an improvement of one or more BMI classifications versus 19% on placebo. An improvement of ≥ 2 BMI classifications happened in 45% of individuals treated with semaglutide versus 3% with placebo. In general, treatment with semaglutide decreased the percentage of individuals with the most severe degree of weight problems (OCIII) from 37% to 14% after 68 weeks.
The study, led by Aaron S. Kelly, PhD, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and associates, likewise showed almost three quarters (74%) moved down by at least one weight classification.
The full STEP TEENS trial, released in 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed the effectiveness of semaglutide in helping teenagers lose weight. In this secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial, the authors took a look at the effect of semaglutide treatment on improvement in body mass index (BMI) categories.
In a secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial, semaglutide proved to be a considerable treatment for teen weight problems, with 45% of the semaglutide-treated participants losing adequate weight to drop below the weight problems cutoff, and 74% moved down at least one BMI classification after 68 weeks.
Almost Half of Adolescents Using Semaglutide in Trial Dropped Below the Clinical Cut-Off for Obesity
A secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial, released in the Obesity journal and provided at the European Congress on Obesity 2023, has found that semaglutide is efficient in treating weight problems in adolescents. Nearly half (45%) of the individuals treated with semaglutide managed to lose enough weight to be classified listed below the obesity cutoff, and about three-quarters (74%) experienced a drop in at least one body mass index (BMI) category. The trial initially involved 201 teenagers with high BMIs, who were randomized into groups receiving either a placebo or weekly semaglutide injections alongside way of life therapy for 68 weeks. After this duration, the semaglutide group showed substantial improvements in BMI categories compared to the placebo group, with a marked reduction in those with serious obesity.
A new secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial provided at this years European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2023, Dublin 17-20 May) and published in the journal Obesity shows that nearly half (45%) of the adolescents designated to semaglutide in the trial handled to lose sufficient weight to drop listed below the medical cutoff for weight problems.
On June 4, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy (semaglutide) injection (2.4 mg as soon as weekly) for chronic weight management in grownups with weight problems or obese with at least one weight-related condition (such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol), for usage in addition to a lowered calorie diet and increased exercise.
Teenagers aged 12 to under 18 years with BMI in the highest 5% were included in this analysis. Individuals were randomized 2:1 to once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg (n= 134) or placebo (n= 67) for 68 weeks; both groups got matching lifestyle counseling. The proportion of participants who accomplished an enhancement in BMI category from baseline to week 68 was assessed using on-treatment information.
BMI categories, based upon Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI charts, were: normal weight (BMI ≥ 5th to << 85th percentile); overweight (BMI ≥ 85th to << 95th percentile); and obesity class I (OCI; BMI ≥ 95th percentile). Severe weight problems class II (OCII) and class III (OCIII) are based upon a portion above the 95th percentile cutoff for weight problems-- OCII is defined as ≥ 20% above this cutoff and OCIII is defined as ≥ 40% above this cutoff..
Of 201 teenagers randomized, 62 (31%), 69 (34%) and 69 (34%) remained in OCIII, OCII and OCI, respectively; only one participant (0.5%) had obese and was omitted from this secondary analysis. At randomization, mean body weight was 107.5 kg and suggest BMI was 37.0 kg/m2 (OCII).
At week 68, 74% of individuals on semaglutide had an improvement of one or more BMI classifications versus 19% on placebo. An improvement of ≥ 2 BMI classifications took place in 45% of individuals treated with semaglutide versus 3% with placebo. Overall, treatment with semaglutide reduced the proportion of individuals with the most serious degree of weight problems (OCIII) from 37% to 14% after 68 weeks.
By week 68, a total of 45% participants in the semaglutide arm experienced a decrease in BMI listed below the clinical cutoff point for weight problems (i.e., reached regular weight or overweight) versus 12% of individuals in the placebo arm.
The authors concluded, "Once-weekly semaglutide was connected with medically meaningful improvements in BMI classifications versus PBO throughout all BMI classes in teenagers with weight problems.".
" These outcomes underscore the high degree of scientific efficiency of semaglutide in adolescents with weight problems," stated Kelly. "In an useful sense, we see that semaglutide reduced weight to a level below what is specified as scientific weight problems in nearly 50% of the teenagers in our trial, which is historically extraordinary with treatments aside from bariatric surgical treatment.".
Kelly provided this study at ECO 2023 on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
References:.
" Reducing BMI below the obesity limit in adolescents treated with once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg" by Aaron S. Kelly, Silva Arslanian, Dan Hesse, Aske Thorn Iversen, Antje Körner, Signe Schmidt, Rasmus Sørrig, Daniel Weghuber and Ania M. Jastreboff, 17 May 2023, Obesity.DOI: 10.1002/ oby.23808.
" Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adolescents with Obesity" by Daniel Weghuber, M.D., Timothy Barrett, Ph.D., Margarita Barrientos-Pérez, M.D., Inge Gies, Ph.D., Dan Hesse, Ph.D., Ole K. Jeppesen, M.Sc., Aaron S. Kelly, Ph.D., Lucy D. Mastrandrea, M.D., Rasmus Sørrig, Ph.D., and Silva Arslanian, M.D. for the STEP TEENS Investigators, 15 December 2022, The New England Journal of Medicine.DOI: 10.1056/ NEJMoa2208601.
