Weight loss drug + exercise: a Muscle-Saving combo?
NCT ID NCT07091500
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether adding exercise to a common weight-loss drug (semaglutide) can prevent muscle loss and keep people physically strong. Researchers will follow 40 adults with obesity for two years, tracking muscle mass, strength, and function. They will also see what happens when people stop taking the drug.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Semaglutide (a GLP-1 receptor agonist) and exercise training
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that combining exercise with GLP-1 drugs helps maintain muscle and physical function during weight loss, and inform better long-term strategies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study with only 40 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The impact of stopping treatment is uncertain, and exercise adherence may vary.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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50 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * i) obesity (Body Mass Index ≥ 30 kg/m2) * ii) decreased physical function (Modified Physical Performance Test score 17 to 31) * iii) approval of their primary physician to participate in this study. Exclusion Criteria: * i) unstable weight (\>4% change during the last 2 months before entering the study) * ii) ≥150 min per week of structured exercise (e.g., jogging, activities that cause heavy breathing and sweating) * iii) diabetes * iv) significant cardiopulmonary disease (heart failure, angina, uncontrolled hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or other organ dysfunction (e.g., renal insufficiency \[eGFR \<30 mL/min/1.73 m2\]) * v) therapy with a GLP-1 or other weight loss medications * vi) clinically significant gastric emptying abnormality or chronically take drugs that directly affect gastrointestinal motility * vii) history of chronic or acute pancreatitis * viii) thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) \>1.5X the upper limit of normal (patients receiving treatment for hypothyroidism may be included provided their thyroid hormone replacement dose has been stable for at least 3 months) * ix) history of significantly active or unstable Major Depressive Disorder or other severe psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other serious mood or anxiety disorder) within the last 2 months that would interfere with study participation * x) acute or chronic hepatitis, or other liver disease other than Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) * xi) family or personal history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 * xii) history of active or untreated malignancy or are in remission from a clinically significant malignancy (other than basal- or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ carcinomas of the cervix, or in situ prostate cancer) for less than 5 years * xiii) tobacco use, excessive alcohol intake (≥3 drinks/day for men and ≥2 drinks/day for women) or active substance abuse with illegal drugs by self-report, or regular marijuana use within 3 months of enrollment and unwilling to abstain from marijuana during the trial * xiv) Use of medications that are known to affect the study outcome measures or increase the risk of study procedures and that cannot be temporarily discontinued for this study * xv) have had bariatric surgery or plan to have endoscopic or bariatric surgery therapy for obesity * xvi) anemia (Hgb \<10 g/dL) * xvii) Conditions that render subject unable to complete all testing procedures (e.g., severe ambulatory impairments, limb amputations, or metal implants that interfere with imaging procedures; coagulation disorders) * xii) history of seizure disorder * xix) Female who is pregnant, breast-feeding or intends to become pregnant * xx) allergy or hypersensitivity to GLP-1 RA medications * xxi) unable to grant voluntary informed consent * xxii) unable or unwilling to follow the study protocol or who, for any reason, the research team considers the participant is not an appropriate candidate for the study
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Washington University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
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