What the trial was testing
The SELECT enrolled 17,604 patients with obesity. The study was sponsored by Novo Nordisk and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
20% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2023 · NCT03574597
These findings — that of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death in overweight adults with heart disease — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 17,604 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with obesity, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Semaglutide (Wegovy) is FDA-approved both for chronic weight management and to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in adults with overweight or obesity and existing heart disease. The most common side effects are nausea and stomach upset that ease over time. Ask your doctor or cardiologist whether you qualify.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open obesity trials
Neuromuscular Balance Exercise Effects in Overweight and Obese Individuals
This randomized controlled study aims to evaluate the effects of adding neuromuscular balance exercises to exercise programs on functional capacity, balance, and physical fitness in individuals with obesity. Forty participants will be randomly assigned to either a control group receiving aerobic and strength training exercises or an intervention group receiving aerobic and strength training combined with neuromuscular balance exercises. Both exercise programs will be conducted three times per week for eight weeks. Functional capacity, balance, and physical fitness outcomes will be assessed at baseline and after the intervention period. The findings are expected to contribute to the integration of balance-focused exercises into rehabilitation programs for individuals with obesity.
Evaluation of the Metabolic Surgery Technique for Glycemic Improvement in Type 2 Diabetes
Surgery is one of the management options for type 2 diabetes in patients with moderate obesity. This is a recent option because it has been part of the recommendations since October 2022. The possible surgical techniques are the same as those for bariatric surgery: * Sleeve, * Bypass, * Gastric band, but the main goal is not weight loss, it is remission of type 2 diabetes. It is called metabolic surgery. The ring technique (gastroplasty) is practiced less and less in France because it is less effective in weight loss and is responsible for major discomfort. Currently, metabolic surgery is one of the recommendations but no study has compared the effectiveness of the techniques with each other. One or other of the techniques can be chosen according to the preferences of the surgeon, the patient, the center, etc. but this choice is not made objectively, in the absence of comparative data. This study would like to follow up on patients for whom metabolic surgery has been proposed by the doctor,. If the surgery is accepted, this study would like to improve knowledge of the effectiveness of the different techniques, and thus demonstrate which metabolic surgery technique is preferred in terms of effectiveness and safety.