The main finding
In one sentence: One year after all treatment ended, people who had taken liraglutide alone had regained an estimated 9.6 kg, compared with 7.1 kg after liraglutide plus supervised exercise and 3.6 kg after exercise alone, though only 109 people attended the follow-up and the main comparisons did not meet the study's statistical threshold.
Group averages, not an individual prediction. A trial result describes what happened to a defined group over a defined time.
On this page
Why this study matters
Most stopping studies look at a medicine on its own. S-LiTE is unusual because it compared a medicine, a supervised exercise program, and the two combined, and then followed people for a full year after every treatment stopped. It speaks to a question many Canadian readers ask: does building an exercise habit during treatment change what happens afterward? The answer here is suggestive but not conclusive.
Who was in the study
The trial took place in Copenhagen. It enrolled adults aged 18 to 65 with a starting body mass index, or BMI, of 32 to 43. BMI is a number that relates weight to height. Everyone first completed an eight-week low-calorie diet and lost an average of 13.1 kg.
After the diet, 195 people were randomized to one year of maintenance treatment, and 166 completed that year. All randomized participants were then invited back one year after treatment ended, at week 104 from randomization. Only 109 attended. Recruitment for the follow-up ran from 17 December 2018 to 17 December 2020.
What the researchers did
After the diet, people were randomized, meaning assigned by chance, in equal numbers to four groups for 52 weeks: supervised exercise, daily liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza) 3.0 mg by injection, both combined, or placebo with usual activity. A placebo is an injection that looks the same but contains no medicine. At week 52, all active treatment stopped.
This paper reports the visit one year later. The main outcome was the change in body weight from randomization (week 0) to one year after treatment ended (week 104), analysed by intention to treat. Intention to treat means people are counted in the group they were assigned to, whatever happened later. Missing data were handled with a statistical model. Body-fat percentage was the secondary outcome.
What they found
From week 0 to week 104, people who had received the combination had a body weight 5.1 kg lower than people who had received liraglutide alone (95% CI -10.0 to -0.2). A confidence interval is the range within which the true difference most likely sits. Body-fat percentage was 2.3 percentage points lower (95% CI -4.3 to -0.3). However, these comparisons did not meet the study's prespecified false-discovery threshold, a stricter rule the authors set in advance to guard against chance findings when testing several outcomes (R32-C112).
During the off-treatment year itself, from week 52 to 104, estimated regain was 9.6 kg after liraglutide alone, 7.1 kg after the combination, and 3.6 kg after exercise alone (R32-C111). Regain was 6.0 kg larger after stopping liraglutide alone than after stopping exercise (95% CI 2.1 to 10.0), and 2.5 kg larger than after stopping the combination (95% CI -1.5 to 6.5).
| Previous treatment | Estimated regain, week 52 to 104 |
|---|---|
| Liraglutide 3.0 mg alone | 9.6 kg |
| Liraglutide plus exercise | 7.1 kg |
| Supervised exercise alone | 3.6 kg |
| Placebo | Not reported in the summary we reviewed |
More people from the combination group kept a weight loss of at least 10% of their pre-diet weight at week 104 than people from the placebo group (odds ratio 7.2, 95% CI 2.4 to 21.3) or the liraglutide group (odds ratio 4.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 10.8). More people from the exercise group did so than from the placebo group (odds ratio 3.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 11.1). An odds ratio above 1 means the outcome was more likely in the first group.
Side effects and people who stopped
No one was taking study treatment during the year covered by this paper. The published summary we reviewed does not report adverse events. Of 195 people randomized, 166 completed the treatment year and 109 attended the week 104 visit.
What this study does not tell you
- Only 109 people attended the follow-up, and those who attended had responded better to their earlier treatment. This can make the results look more favourable than they are.
- The main weight and body-fat comparisons did not meet the prespecified false-discovery threshold, so they should be read as nominal, not confirmed (R32-C112).
- Regain in the placebo group is not reported in the summary we reviewed.
- This is a follow-up after stopping in a research setting. It is not evidence for any individual plan to stop a medicine.
- The trial was small and ran in one city, so results may not carry over to other settings.
- Liraglutide 3.0 mg results should not be compared side by side with stopping studies of other medicines.
What it means in Canada
For Canadian readers, S-LiTE hints that supervised exercise during treatment may matter for what happens afterward, but the follow-up was too small and too selective to settle the question. It does not describe how liraglutide is prescribed or paid for here. See public drug coverage by province for cost questions and compare services for care options that include exercise support.
Common questions
How much weight came back after stopping liraglutide in S-LiTE?
In the year after treatment ended, estimated regain was 9.6 kg after liraglutide alone, 7.1 kg after liraglutide plus exercise, and 3.6 kg after exercise alone.
Did exercise help keep weight off after stopping liraglutide?
Regain was 6.0 kg larger after stopping liraglutide alone than after stopping supervised exercise (95% CI 2.1 to 10.0), but only 109 people attended the follow-up visit.
Were the S-LiTE follow-up results statistically confirmed?
No. The main weight and body-fat comparisons were nominally significant but did not meet the study's prespecified false-discovery threshold.
Related reading
Other studies in this library that bear on the same question.
S-LiTE: exercise and liraglutide after diet-induced weight loss
SCALE: liraglutide 3 mg for weight management
What happens to weight when semaglutide is stopped: STEP 4
What happens to weight when tirzepatide is stopped: SURMOUNT-4
One year after stopping semaglutide: the STEP 1 extension
Source
Original paper: Simon Birk Kjær Jensen, S-LiTE 1-year off-treatment extension, EClinicalMedicine, 2024. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38544798/. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102475. Funding: The study was funded by Helsefonden and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. How we summarized it: full text and extracted data.
This page explains a published study. It is not medical advice and does not describe whether a medicine is right for you. Talk to your doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist about your own situation. Reviewed and signed by two pharmacists registered in British Columbia, 2026-09-18.
Evidence records behind this page
Each record is a row in the clinical evidence file, taken from the published paper named above. The caution column is the limit the researcher recorded for that number.
This table scrolls sideways.
| Record | What the paper reports | Type | Population | Caution | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R32-C111 | In the S-LiTE off-treatment year, estimated mean regain was 9.6 kg after liraglutide alone,7.1 kg after combined liraglutide/exercise and 3.6 kg after exercise alone; only 109 participants attended follow-up. | direct evidence | Adults 18 to 65 years with obesity after diet-induced weight loss and randomized maintenance | Only 109 attended; attendees had better prior response. Nominal primary weight/body-fat comparisons did not meet prespecified false-discovery criterion. Primary 33951361; extension after stopping is not evidence for a safe individual stopping plan. | PubMed 38544798 |
| R32-C112 | The S-LiTE extension's nominal week 0 to 104 weight advantage for previous combination therapy over liraglutide alone did not meet its prespecified false-discovery threshold. | direct evidence | Adults 18 to 65 years with obesity after diet-induced weight loss and randomized maintenance | Only 109 attended; attendees had better prior response. Nominal primary weight/body-fat comparisons did not meet prespecified false-discovery criterion. Primary 33951361; extension after stopping is not evidence for a safe individual stopping plan. | PubMed 38544798 |