Purpose

The use of glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) may have clinically important effects on skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and physical function. The effects of exercise training in conjunction with GLP-1 RA therapy on these outcomes has not been studied. Additionally, most people treated with GLP-1-based weight loss medications stop taking these medications within 1 year of initiating treatment. This is an important clinical concern because weight regain can occur after weight loss pharmacotherapy is stopped and the impact of stopping GLP-1 RA therapy on physical and metabolic function has not been studied. In this study, the investigators will conduct a 2-year randomized clinical trial to evaluate body composition, muscle, physical and metabolic function, muscle strength and appetite control and reward signaling in the brain in response to 1-year of GLP-1 RA therapy, with or without exercise training, and subsequent treatment cessation on muscle and appetite-related outcomes assessed 1-year after stopping treatment.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 50 Years and 75 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

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

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Basic Science
Masking
Single (Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
GLP-1 RA
Participants in this group will receive semaglutide therapy along with diet behavior counseling for 52 weeks
  • Behavioral: Exercise training
    Participants will perform supervised exercise training sessions 3 days per week and unsupervised at-home sessions 2-3 days per week.
  • Drug: Semaglutide
    semaglutide 2.4 mg subcutaneous per week or max tolerated dose and diet behavior counseling
  • Behavioral: Therapy Cessation
    After 1 year of treatment, participants will stop taking GLP-1 medications (and exercise, if applicable)
Experimental
GLP-1 RA + Exercise
Participants in this group will receive semaglutide therapy along with diet behavior counseling and exercise training for 52 weeks.
  • Behavioral: Exercise training
    Participants will perform supervised exercise training sessions 3 days per week and unsupervised at-home sessions 2-3 days per week.
  • Drug: Semaglutide
    semaglutide 2.4 mg subcutaneous per week or max tolerated dose and diet behavior counseling
  • Behavioral: Therapy Cessation
    After 1 year of treatment, participants will stop taking GLP-1 medications (and exercise, if applicable)

Recruiting Locations

Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri 63110
Contact:
Coordinator
314-273-1879

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine

Study Contact

Coordinator
314-273-1879
NutritionResearch@wustl.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.