Liraglutide dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Liraglutide is a once-a-day shot for type 2 diabetes and weight loss. It was the first drug of its kind approved for obesity, and it lowered heart attacks and strokes in a big study.
Evidence grade for Liraglutide: Strong. The rule: at least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. The sum on this page: 6 completed trials, 16,760 people given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 16,760
- Human studies
- 6
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
Approved label amounts
0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3 mg
The approved liraglutide ladder, in mg.
9 effects reported, 5 unwanted, 4 wanted, by people using it, not a trial
Goal pages: Fat loss and metabolism, Heart and circulation
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
Liraglutide is a once a day shot that turns down hunger and lowers blood sugar. It is the older cousin of Ozempic. It works the same way but wears off faster, so you take it every day instead of once a week. It is sold as Victoza for diabetes and Saxenda for weight loss. It is approved and prescription only.
What people take it for
- Weight loss when the weekly drugs are too costly or out of stock.
- Type 2 diabetes control.
- Cutting heart attack and stroke risk.
- A gentler start before moving up to a stronger drug.
What studies in people showed
The biggest trial was about the heart. 9,340 people with diabetes and high heart risk were followed for nearly four years. Heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths hit 13.0 percent on this drug and 14.9 percent on the dummy shot. That is a 13 percent cut. In the big weight trial, 3,731 adults without diabetes took 3.0 mg a day for 56 weeks. They lost 8.4 kg. The dummy shot group lost 2.8 kg. About 63 percent lost at least 5 percent of their weight, against 27 percent on the dummy shot. Head to head against Wegovy, it lost badly. People lost 6.4 percent on this drug and 15.8 percent on Wegovy over 68 weeks. More than twice as many people quit this drug as quit Wegovy, 27.6 percent against 13.5 percent.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- Hunger goes down and portions shrink, though less than on the weekly drugs.
- Blood sugar comes down and stays down.
- Daily dosing means you can back off fast if a dose is too much.
- Cheaper and easier to find than the newer drugs in some places.
The bad
- Nausea, mostly in the first weeks. This is the top reason people quit.
- A shot every day. People get tired of it and skip doses.
- Constipation, headaches and tiredness.
- Less weight loss than friends on the weekly drugs, which some people find hard to stick with.
- Red or sore skin where the needle goes in.
Where these come from: The weight and heart numbers are from the SCALE, LEADER and STEP 8 trials and their side effect tables. The rest is from user forums, mainly r/liraglutide, r/Saxenda and r/peptides, and from clinic write-ups. Forum reports are not trial results.
My bottom line
It is real, it is approved, and it works, but the weekly drugs beat it by a wide margin in a head to head trial. If this is what you can get, it is a fair choice. Lift and eat protein while you are on it. Every drug in this family will take muscle if you let it.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals Liraglutide has been tested for in people, biggest studies first. We count only what the studies on this page say, so the real numbers may be higher.
- Blood sugar and insulin10,186 people · 2 studies
- Heart attacks and strokes9,340 people · 1 study
- Losing weight4,577 people · 2 studies
33 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind Liraglutide
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove Liraglutide does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about Liraglutide and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is Liraglutide?
Liraglutide is a once-a-day shot for type 2 diabetes and weight loss. It was the first drug of its kind approved for obesity, and it lowered heart attacks and strokes in a big study.
Liraglutide is a daily shot. It works like semaglutide, but it wears off faster, so you take it every day instead of once a week. It is sold as Victoza for type 2 diabetes and as Saxenda for weight loss. The biggest study followed 9,340 people with type 2 diabetes and a high risk of heart trouble for close to four years. On liraglutide, 13.0% had a heart attack, had a stroke or died of heart disease. On a dummy shot, 14.9% did. That is 13% fewer of those events. In a second study, 3,731 adults without diabetes took the 3.0 mg dose for 56 weeks. They lost 8.4 kg on average. People on a dummy shot lost 2.8 kg. That study is why Saxenda was approved for weight loss. Doctors still use it as a yardstick for the drugs in this family.
How does Liraglutide work?
It copies GLP-1, a gut hormone you make after you eat. That tells your body to release insulin when blood sugar is high. It turns down glucagon, a hormone that raises blood sugar. Food leaves your stomach more slowly, and you feel less hungry.
What have studies in people found about Liraglutide?
Liraglutide has a deep record of human trials: a heart trial in 9,340 patients, four weight-loss trials, a three-year trial on preventing diabetes and a trial in teenagers. It is also the only drug here that lost a head-to-head trial paid for by its own maker.
- Heart trial: 9,340 people with type 2 diabetes at high heart risk were followed for about 3.8 years. Heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths hit 13.0% on liraglutide and 14.9% on a dummy shot.
- Weight loss without diabetes: 3,731 adults lost 8.4 kg on average on 3.0 mg over 56 weeks, against 2.8 kg on a dummy shot. 63.2% lost at least 5% of their weight, against 27.1%.
- Three years with prediabetes: 2,254 people took part and 1,128 (50%) stayed to week 160. Diabetes was diagnosed in 2% on liraglutide and 6% on the dummy shot. Weight fell 6.1% against 1.9%. But 47% and 55% of the two groups dropped out, and nobody followed them afterwards.
- Weight loss with type 2 diabetes: 846 adults lost 6.0% on 3.0 mg and 4.7% on 1.8 mg over 56 weeks, against 2.0% on a dummy shot. 25.2% lost more than 10%, against 6.7%.
- Head-to-head: 338 adults took weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg or daily liraglutide 3.0 mg for 68 weeks. They lost 15.8% on semaglutide and 6.4% on liraglutide, a gap of 9.4 points. 27.6% quit liraglutide for any reason, against 13.5% on semaglutide.
- Teenagers: 251 young people aged 12 to 17 took the daily shot or a dummy one for 56 weeks. Their weight-for-height score fell 0.22 more on the drug. 43.3% cut their body mass index by at least 5%, against 18.7%. After stopping, the score rose faster in the drug group. 10.4% quit over side effects, against none on the dummy.
What this does not tell you: Liraglutide is a daily shot, and the head-to-head dropout numbers, 27.6% against 13.5%, show what that costs in real life. The three-year prevention result comes from a trial where half the people quit and were not followed. So the diabetes numbers describe people still on the drug, not everyone who started. The teen trial shows weight coming back after stopping. The big heart trial only took people with type 2 diabetes at high heart risk, so it says nothing about heart effects in anyone else. And the weight-loss research has basically stopped growing: the newest trial here is from 2022.
The state of the research
Liraglutide shows what happens to the evidence once a drug stops being a company's star product. It is the mirror image of the story on the pages for peptides nobody can patent. Novo Nordisk paid for all of it: the big heart trial, the weight-loss trials, the teen trial and the head-to-head that replaced it. The patent paid for a 9,340-patient heart trial and a three-year prevention trial. That is exactly what a money incentive is supposed to buy.
Then the incentive moved on. The newest trial on this list is from 2022. It was designed to show that the same company's newer drug was better, and it was, by 9.4 points. A company that owns both drugs has every reason to run that test. It has no reason to keep testing the one it is replacing. So the liraglutide record is basically frozen. The open questions will not get answered: keeping weight off long term, use in people who cannot handle weekly shots, and what happens after the newer drugs are stopped. That is not because they are dull questions. It is because nobody stands to gain from answering them.
There is no serious argument about what liraglutide does. The point worth flagging is how one result gets read. The three-year prediabetes result is often quoted as proof the drug prevents diabetes. The trial's own authors state the limit plainly: 47% and 55% of the two groups dropped out and were not followed. The drop in diabetes it found is real for people who stay on the drug. It is not the same as preventing diabetes in everyone who starts it.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
16,760people, across 6 studies in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| LEADER, New England Journal of Medicine 2016 | 9,340 | 56% |
| New England Journal of Medicine 2015 | 3,731 | 22% |
| The Lancet 2017 | 2,254 | 13% |
| JAMA 2015 | 846 | 5% |
| JAMA 2022 | 338 | 2% |
| New England Journal of Medicine 2020 | 251 | 1% |
One study holds 56% of these people, so the total rests more on one study than its size suggests. Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
All 6 sources here are studies in people.
- Study in people · done in people6100%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
The studies cover 5 different years, 2015 to 2022, counted from the list of sources on this page.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Approved
AU
Approved
CA
Approved
Approved in all four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Peptide
- Molecule weight
- 3,751.2 Da
- Half-life
- About 13 hoursMedium, 6 to 24 hours
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for Liraglutide, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2016Liraglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes (LEADER)
Liraglutide cut heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease in people with diabetes. 9,340 adults with type 2 diabetes and a high risk of heart trouble got either liraglutide or a dummy injection, and were followed for close to four years. About one in eight fewer of those events happened on the drug. In plain counts that is roughly 19 fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiac deaths for every 1,000 people treated. Everyone here already had diabetes, so it says nothing about healthy people.
9,340 patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk, median 3.8 years: primary MACE in 13.0% on liraglutide vs 14.9% on placebo (HR 0.87, a 13% relative reduction; P=0.01 for superiority).
- Study in people2015A Randomized, Controlled Trial of 3.0 mg of Liraglutide in Weight Management (SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes)
Liraglutide at the obesity dose took off real weight, though less than the headlines suggest. 3,731 adults without diabetes took the 3.0 mg shot or a dummy shot for just over a year. Average weight loss was 8.4 kg on the drug and 2.8 kg on the dummy, so about 5.6 kg of it came from the drug. Roughly two thirds lost at least a twentieth of their body weight, against a quarter on the dummy. The trial ran a year, so nobody was watched longer than that.
3,731 adults without diabetes: mean weight loss of 8.4 kg with liraglutide 3.0 mg vs 2.8 kg with placebo at 56 weeks; 63.2% vs 27.1% lost at least 5%. Basis of the Saxenda obesity approval.
- Study in people2015Efficacy of Liraglutide for Weight Loss Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: The SCALE Diabetes Randomized Clinical Trial
Liraglutide took off a modest amount of weight in people with type 2 diabetes. 846 adults took the daily shot at one of two doses or a dummy one for 56 weeks. Nobody involved knew which. The higher dose took off 6.0% of body weight, the lower dose 4.7%, and the dummy 2.0%. A quarter of the people on the higher dose lost more than a tenth of their weight, against under seven in a hundred on the dummy.
846 adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes over 56 weeks: weight loss 6.0% on liraglutide 3.0 mg and 4.7% on 1.8 mg versus 2.0% on placebo, with more than 10% lost by 25.2% versus 6.7%.
- Study in people20173 years of liraglutide versus placebo for type 2 diabetes risk reduction and weight management in individuals with prediabetes: a randomised, double-blind trial
Far fewer people developed diabetes on liraglutide, and half the trial quit before the end. 2,254 people with prediabetes were split by chance and followed for three years, and only 1,128 finished. Diabetes was diagnosed in 2% on the drug against 6% on the dummy, and weight fell 6.1% against 1.9%. Here is the problem. 47% of the drug group and 55% of the dummy group walked away, and nobody followed them afterwards. This describes people who stayed on treatment.
2,254 randomized with 1,128 completing to week 160: diabetes diagnosed in 2% versus 6% (HR 0.21) and weight -6.1% versus -1.9%. 47% of the liraglutide arm and 55% of the placebo arm withdrew and were not followed after discontinuation.
- Study in people2020A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Liraglutide for Adolescents with Obesity
Liraglutide helped teenagers lose weight, and it came back when they stopped. 251 people aged 12 to 17 were split by chance between the daily shot and a dummy one for 56 weeks. Their weight-for-height score fell modestly more on the drug, and 43.3% cut their body mass index by at least a twentieth against 18.7%. After stopping, the score climbed back faster on the drug. One in ten quit over side effects, and nobody on the dummy did.
251 participants aged 12 to under 18 over 56 weeks: BMI standard-deviation score difference -0.22 (P=0.002) and 43.3% versus 18.7% reducing BMI by at least 5%. BMI standard-deviation score rebounded more after stopping, and 10.4% discontinued for adverse events versus 0% on placebo.
- Study in people2022Effect of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Daily Liraglutide on Body Weight in Adults With Overweight or Obesity Without Diabetes: The STEP 8 Randomized Clinical Trial
Semaglutide beat liraglutide, in a trial funded by the company that sells both. 338 adults took one drug or the other for 68 weeks. Weekly semaglutide took off 15.8% of body weight and daily liraglutide 6.4%, a gap of 9.4 percentage points. More than a quarter of the liraglutide group quit for any reason, against about one in seven on semaglutide. Novo Nordisk makes both drugs and paid for the trial, and no newer liraglutide weight trial has appeared since.
338 adults over 68 weeks: -15.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus -6.4% on liraglutide 3.0 mg, a difference of 9.4 percentage points, with discontinuation for any reason 13.5% versus 27.6%. Funded by the company that makes both drugs.
Where to buy Liraglutide
Liraglutide is an approved medicine. The approved product comes from a pharmacy, with a prescription. The vials below are sold “for research” and are not the approved drug.
8 sellers list Liraglutide in our latest read. They are ranked by trust score, then by archive rating, then by certificate tier, then by the lowest price per milligram. Archive evidence is counted before source-backed. Each path is out of 4, and the two are not added. A higher price does not raise the score. The letter is the certificate chip. 0 of them have a published certificate that names Liraglutide.
Some seller links may pay this site when you buy through them. A payment never changes a seller's tier or rank, and no seller has a say in any page.
| Seller | Trust score | Vial sizes | From, per mg | Certificate for Liraglutide | Seller link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Purpose Labs | 49 WeakSource-backed 3 of 4. Archive evidence 2 of 4.A | 5 mg | $14.0 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Apexlab | 49 WeakSource-backed 2 of 4. Archive evidence 2 of 4.B | 5 mg, 10 mg, 30 mg | $17.7 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| APR Health Solutions | 40 WeakSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 5 mg | $7.00 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Peptides World | 39 WeakSource-backed 4 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.B | 5 mg | $19.8 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Arizona Mall | 36 WeakSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 30 mg | $1.20 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Aries Peptide Research | 36 WeakSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 20 mg | $6.25 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Limitless Biotech ST | 36 WeakSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 3 mg | $17.0 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
| Boston Molecules | 28 InsufficientSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 10 mg | $81.0 | None found for Liraglutide | View |
- LC Lab-confirmed: the issuing laboratory echoed this certificate back
- A Current certificate, independent laboratory named, laboratory not yet checked
- B Certificate published, but no laboratory link, older than a year, or the laboratory did not recognise the published lookup
- C No certificate could be read
Every listing and vial size for Liraglutide · How the trust score is counted
Sellers named on the price pages are ranked by certificate tier, then price, and any affiliate income is disclosed there. Naming a seller is not a recommendation to buy or use anything.
Common questions
Has Liraglutide been tested in people?
Yes. 16,760 people given it across 6 completed trials cited here, 0 of which found nothing. Liraglutide is a once-a-day shot for type 2 diabetes and weight loss. It was the first drug of its kind approved for obesity, and it lowered heart attacks and strokes in a big study.
What is the Liraglutide dosage?
Approved label amounts. 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3 mg The approved liraglutide ladder, in mg.
Is Liraglutide FDA-approved?
FDA-approved (Victoza for type 2 diabetes; Saxenda for weight management)
How is liraglutide different from semaglutide?
Both work on the same gut hormone signal. Liraglutide is a shot you take every day. Semaglutide is a shot you take once a week. In studies, average weight loss has generally been bigger on semaglutide.