Danish study finds 52% of semaglutide users for weight loss stopped within a year
A Danish registry study found more than half of adults taking semaglutide for weight loss had stopped within a year, with the highest dropout among people aged 18 to 30.
A study of 77,310 adults in Denmark without diabetes who started semaglutide for weight management found that many stopped within the first year. Eighteen percent had stopped by three months and 52% had stopped by one year [1].
The research, published in JAMA Network Open, used national Danish registry data to follow people who began semaglutide for obesity management [1]. The authors measured the cumulative risk of discontinuation at three, six, nine and 12 months [1]. Cumulative risk describes the share of people who had stopped the drug by each of those points in time.
Dropout was highest among adults aged 18 to 30 [1]. The study also looked at whether characteristics recorded before treatment started — including age, sex, medications and health conditions — were associated with a higher risk of stopping [1]. The results for those factors appear in the paper's figures, which report age- and sex-adjusted risk ratios [1].
Semaglutide is sold in the United States as Ozempic and Rybelsus, which are approved for type 2 diabetes, and as Wegovy, which is approved for weight management. The Danish study looked at people without diabetes who were prescribed the drug for obesity management [1].
The paper's disclosure statement shows that the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital receives research funding from the Danish Medicines Agency and from companies. One author reported grants from Novo Nordisk, which makes semaglutide, along with several other drugmakers, outside this study [1]. The authors stated those relationships had no relation to this work [1].
Prior work cited in the paper includes a 2024 JAMA Network Open study of GLP-1 discontinuation among US patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes, and a 2025 JAMA Network Open study of discontinuation and reinitiation among US adults with overweight or obesity [1].
What is not known
The study does not explain why people stopped. Reasons such as side effects, cost, insurance coverage, supply problems or a decision to stop after reaching a weight goal have not been reported as part of this analysis [1]. Whether the same one-year pattern would appear in the US, where insurance coverage and drug pricing work differently, has not been established.
Why it matters for patients
Staying on a GLP-1 medication is not automatic, and this study puts a number on how often people stop. More than half of the people tracked had quit by the one-year mark [1].
Stopping has consequences that are documented elsewhere. The Danish paper cites the STEP 1 extension trial, which found weight regain after semaglutide was withdrawn, and a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in The BMJ on weight regain after weight-management medication is stopped [1]. In other words, an early stop can erode the weight loss that led to treatment in the first place.
The data also show that the youngest adults in the study were the most likely to stop [1]. That group may be earlier in treatment and more likely to see changes in jobs or insurance. Because the study did not measure reasons for stopping, no conclusion can be drawn about whether early discontinuation reflects side effects, supply, cost or a deliberate choice.
For anyone weighing a prescription, the practical takeaway is that real-world use of these drugs looks different from clinical trials, where participants are supported and followed closely. Persistence is a distinct question from how well a drug works, and this study addresses only persistence [1].
Sources
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