Is Wegovy approved for weight loss?

Yes. In the US, Wegovy is FDA-approved to reduce excess body weight and maintain the reduction in eligible adults and in adolescents 12 and older with obesity. Health Canada has also authorized it for chronic weight management in eligible adults and teens. This page is not medical advice.

How much weight do people lose on Wegovy?

In STEP 1, average weight change at 68 weeks was -14.9% versus -2.4% on placebo. In STEP 5, averages at two years were -15.2% versus -2.6%. Individual results vary, and both trials included diet and activity programmes.

Is Wegovy the same as Ozempic?

Same active ingredient, semaglutide, but different brands, pens and labelled uses. Ozempic is not FDA-approved for weight loss. The large percentage-loss figures come from Wegovy trials. See Wegovy vs Ozempic and Ozempic for weight loss.

Is semaglutide approved for weight loss?

The FDA-approved US brand of semaglutide for chronic weight management is Wegovy. Ozempic and Rybelsus are semaglutide products labelled for type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss. This page is not medical advice.

Is Wegovy the same as semaglutide?

Wegovy is a brand of semaglutide. Other semaglutide brands have different labelled uses. The large percentage-loss figures in STEP 1 and STEP 5 come from Wegovy-strength trials.

Does Wegovy also help the heart?

In SELECT, eligible adults with established cardiovascular disease had 20% fewer major cardiovascular events than on placebo (hazard ratio 0.80). The US label includes that broader major-event indication. The Canadian monograph lists a narrower use: reducing the risk of a non-fatal heart attack in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more.

Is the Wegovy pill available?

The FDA approved Wegovy tablets on 22 December 2025, and they are sold in the US. As of November 11, 2026 the pill is not authorized in Canada. See Wegovy pill and Wegovy pill in Canada.

What happens when you stop Wegovy?

In the STEP 1 extension, people who stopped regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost within a year. Appetite and weight often return when treatment ends.

Wegovy for Weight Loss: Labels, Trial Results and User Reports

Wegovy is FDA-approved for weight loss. STEP 1, STEP 5 and SELECT results, how it differs from Ozempic, and US versus Canada status. Not medical advice.

Anonymous user report. Not medical advice. Peptides discussed are not FDA-approved for the uses described. Editorial process →

Short answer

Wegovy is semaglutide labelled for weight loss. The US Wegovy prescribing information (updated June 18, 2026) approves the weekly injection to reduce excess body weight and keep the loss off, long term, in adults with obesity, or overweight plus at least one weight-related condition, and in adolescents aged 12 years and older with obesity, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity. The same label also covers a once-daily tablet, which the FDA approved on 22 December 2025 and which Novo Nordisk said became available nationwide in the US on 5 January 2026. The injection, not the tablet, has an accelerated-approval indication for noncirrhotic MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis. In STEP 1, adults without diabetes lost an average of 14.9% of body weight over 68 weeks, versus 2.4% on placebo. In STEP 5, that scale of loss was still there at two years: 15.2% versus 2.6% at 104 weeks. The SELECT trial also found fewer major cardiovascular events in eligible adults. Ozempic is the same molecule with a type 2 diabetes label, not a US weight-management label. This is not medical advice. Peptide Confessions does not publish dosing, timing, injection or sourcing guidance.

What the trials showed

STEP 1 (Wilding et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2021) randomised 1,961 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes to weekly semaglutide or placebo, plus lifestyle intervention, for 68 weeks. STEP 5 (Garvey et al., Nature Medicine, 2022) followed 304 adults, also without diabetes, for 104 weeks. The papers reported a 2.4 mg once-weekly injection arm; those figures are how the trials were reported, not a dosing guide. SELECT (Lincoff et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2023) was a cardiovascular-outcomes trial in 17,604 adults with overweight or obesity and established heart disease, without diabetes. Last reviewed: November 11, 2026.

Trial	Who and how long	Main result
STEP 1 (68 weeks)	Adults with obesity or overweight, no diabetes	Average weight change -14.9% versus -2.4% on placebo; 86.4% versus 31.5% lost at least 5% of body weight
STEP 5 (104 weeks)	Adults with obesity or overweight, no diabetes	Average weight change -15.2% versus -2.6%; 77.1% versus 34.4% lost at least 5%. Average loss leveled after about 60 weeks and was maintained to two years
STEP 1 extension	Same STEP 1 participants, one year after stopping	People regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost
SELECT	17,604 adults with heart disease, no diabetes	20% fewer major cardiovascular events than placebo (hazard ratio 0.80)

How Wegovy differs from Ozempic

Both products contain semaglutide. The US Ozempic prescribing information lists type 2 diabetes uses only: improving blood sugar, and reducing cardiovascular or kidney risk in specified groups. It is not FDA-approved for weight loss. The larger percentage-loss figures people often associate with "Ozempic for weight loss" come from Wegovy-strength trials such as STEP 1. Side-by-side: Wegovy vs Ozempic and Ozempic for weight loss. The US label also covers a daily Wegovy tablet, approved on 22 December 2025: Wegovy pill and Wegovy pill results. Tirzepatide produced more average weight loss than semaglutide in a head-to-head trial: Zepbound vs Wegovy. If results stall, see Wegovy not working.

Semaglutide for weight loss: which brand is approved?

Semaglutide is the active ingredient. In the US, the FDA-approved brand for chronic weight management is Wegovy — the weekly injection and, since 22 December 2025, a daily tablet. Ozempic and Rybelsus also contain semaglutide, but their US labels are for type 2 diabetes (and, for Ozempic, specified cardiovascular and kidney uses), not for weight loss. Compounded copies are a different, often unapproved product: compounded semaglutide. People asking about semaglutide for weight loss are usually asking about the labelled weight-management brand, which is this page, not a reason to treat Ozempic as a weight-loss product. See Ozempic for weight loss.

United States versus Canada

Health Canada authorized Wegovy injection in November 2021. The current Canadian product monograph (October 2, 2026) lists three uses: chronic weight management in eligible adults and in teens aged 12 to 17 who meet the criteria; reducing the risk of a non-fatal heart attack in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more; and noncirrhotic MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis, authorized under the conditional (NOC/c) policy. The US cardiovascular indication is broader: it covers major cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke), based on the same SELECT trial. The US label also includes an accelerated-approval MASH indication for the injection.

As of November 11, 2026, the Wegovy pill is approved in the US but is not authorized in Canada; Health Canada's Drug Product Database lists only injectable Wegovy pens. Apotex's Sevmia, a generic semaglutide for weight management, was authorized in Canada on June 29, 2026, and was listed as approved but not yet marketed. Coverage, pens sold, and monograph detail are on Wegovy in Canada, Wegovy coverage in Canada, Wegovy pill in Canada, and Ozempic vs Wegovy in Canada.

Side effects, in brief

Gastrointestinal effects are the most common. In the US Wegovy prescribing information, among 2,116 adults treated with the weekly injection for weight reduction, nausea occurred in 44% versus 16% on placebo. The June 18, 2026 label still carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours in rodents, and warnings that include pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, dehydration-related kidney injury, and low blood sugar when used with some diabetes drugs. After an FDA supplement approval on 19 March 2026, that label also lists a higher-strength weekly injection presentation (Wegovy HD). This page does not publish dosing guidance. Full rates and the 2026 label change on suicidal ideation are on Wegovy side effects. This page does not repeat that table.

What users report here

Writers on the semaglutide hub describe substantial weight loss and, often, weight returning after they stopped. #57 regained everything in four months; #87 says the food noise came back within three weeks. Those are personal stories, not trial rates, and many concern semaglutide without naming the Wegovy brand. Appearance changes after fast loss are covered on Ozempic face.

More confessions from the archive

Community Q&A

Is Wegovy approved for weight loss?: Yes. In the US, Wegovy is FDA-approved to reduce excess body weight and maintain the reduction in eligible adults and in adolescents 12 and older with obesity. Health Canada has also authorized it for chronic weight management in eligible adults and teens. This page is not medical advice.
How much weight do people lose on Wegovy?: In STEP 1, average weight change at 68 weeks was -14.9% versus -2.4% on placebo. In STEP 5, averages at two years were -15.2% versus -2.6%. Individual results vary, and both trials included diet and activity programmes.
Is Wegovy the same as Ozempic?: Same active ingredient, semaglutide, but different brands, pens and labelled uses. Ozempic is not FDA-approved for weight loss. The large percentage-loss figures come from Wegovy trials. See Wegovy vs Ozempic and Ozempic for weight loss.
Is semaglutide approved for weight loss?: The FDA-approved US brand of semaglutide for chronic weight management is Wegovy. Ozempic and Rybelsus are semaglutide products labelled for type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss. This page is not medical advice.
Is Wegovy the same as semaglutide?: Wegovy is a brand of semaglutide. Other semaglutide brands have different labelled uses. The large percentage-loss figures in STEP 1 and STEP 5 come from Wegovy-strength trials.
Does Wegovy also help the heart?: In SELECT, eligible adults with established cardiovascular disease had 20% fewer major cardiovascular events than on placebo (hazard ratio 0.80). The US label includes that broader major-event indication. The Canadian monograph lists a narrower use: reducing the risk of a non-fatal heart attack in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more.
Is the Wegovy pill available?: The FDA approved Wegovy tablets on 22 December 2025, and they are sold in the US. As of November 11, 2026 the pill is not authorized in Canada. See Wegovy pill and Wegovy pill in Canada.
What happens when you stop Wegovy?: In the STEP 1 extension, people who stopped regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost within a year. Appetite and weight often return when treatment ends.
Does this page give dosing advice?: Peptide Confessions does not publish dosing, timing, injection or sourcing guidance.

Sources

Last reviewed November 12, 2026. Anonymous first-hand reports plus sourced context — educational only, not medical advice. Editorial policy & corrections.