Peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial of 427 adults found that after completing Noom’s 16-week program, members continued losing weight for the next 52 weeks — reaching an average 4.1% body weight loss by week 68.
- Results challenge the common assumption that digital weight loss fades once active engagement stops
- At 68 weeks, Noom members had lost an average of 4.1% of their body weight, while the control group gained 1.5% (p < 0.001)
- Noom members were more than twice as likely to achieve clinically significant weight loss of at least 5% of body weight compared with control participants (41% vs. 19.5%)
- Noom members also reported significantly greater increases in vigorous physical activity – a difference of 24 minutes per week
PRINCETON, N.J., June 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noom, the leading behavior change company, today announced results from its largest-ever randomized controlled trial of the Noom Weight program, showing that members achieved clinically meaningful weight loss that continued to deepen for a full year after the program ended.
Published in Obesity Science & Practice, the peer-reviewed study followed 427 adults over 68 weeks – 16 weeks of active program followed by 52 weeks of follow-up. By the end of the study, Noom members in a digital behavior change program had lost an average of 4.1% of their body weight, while a control group that received standard educational materials gained 1.5% (p < 0.001).
“In most weight-loss interventions, participants regain more than half of their initial loss within a year,” said Dr. Erin Owen, Head of Research at Noom. “In this trial, Noom members kept losing weight for a full year after the program ended. The shape of the curve suggests the skills they built became durable habits, not temporary tactics.”
“This is the durability question the GLP-1 era keeps asking and rarely answers,” said Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom. “Members didn’t just lose weight while they were in the program – they kept losing it for a full year after. Behavior change is what makes weight loss stick – with medication or without it.”
Why This Matters Now
Employers, health plans, and clinicians are rethinking obesity care as GLP-1 spending climbs and discontinuation rates remain high – published research suggests the majority of patients stop GLP-1 therapy within a year. Medication can be a powerful catalyst for weight loss, but durable outcomes depend on what happens around it: the habits people build, the behaviors they sustain, and the identity shifts that help change last.
This trial strengthens the case for behavior change as a foundational layer of modern weight management – not an optional add-on. Whether used on its own, alongside medication, or as part of a broader metabolic health strategy, Noom Weight provides clinically validated behavioral support that helps people build skills that can last beyond the period of active intervention.
Inside the Trial
The trial – “Longitudinal Effects of a Digital Weight Management Program on Weight Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial” (McCallum et al., Obesity Science & Practice, 2026) – randomized 427 adults with overweight or obesity to either the Noom Weight program for 16 weeks or a 16-week educational control adapted from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Participants had a mean BMI of 32.5; 83% were women; and 24% identified as non-White and/or Hispanic. Participants were followed for 68 weeks in total. Weight was self-reported via the app, consistent with the trial’s fully remote design.
The primary outcome was weight change at the end of the 16-week program. Secondary outcomes, measured 52 weeks after Noom members stopped using the app, included weight maintenance, physical activity, eating disorder risk, and body appreciation.
Key findings:
- Weight loss at 16 weeks: Noom members lost an average of 1.2% of their body weight while the control group gained 0.6% – a 1.8 percentage-point difference (p = 0.001).
- Weight loss at 68 weeks: Noom members lost an average of 4.05% of their body weight, while the control group gained 1.46% – a 5.51 percentage-point difference in favor of Noom (p < 0.001).
- Clinically significant weight loss: 41% of Noom members reached at least 5% body weight loss at 68 weeks, compared with 19.5% of control participants. Prior research has shown weight loss of 5% or more is associated with reductions in the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
- Retention: 86.7% of Noom participants were retained at 68 weeks, nearly identical to the 86.6% retention in the control group.
- Physical activity: Noom members reported significantly greater increases in vigorous physical activity than control participants, with a difference of 24 minutes per week (p = 0.038).
Behavior Change That Lasts
Noom Weight integrates evidence-based behavior change techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). The program combines daily psychoeducational content, one-on-one coaching, group support, and self-monitoring features including food and weight logging.
The new trial provides randomized evidence that a short, intensive period of engagement with this model can produce sustained outcomes long after the formal program concludes.
Both Noom and control participants showed significant improvements in body appreciation and significant reductions in eating disorder risk over the course of the study.1
The study was funded by Noom, Inc., and was approved by the Advarra Institutional Review Board (protocol Pro00064357; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06666842). The full paper is available open access at https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.70122.2
About Noom
Noom is the leading behavior change company, empowering everyone, everywhere to live better longer – every day. Noom pairs sustainable behavior change with prescription-grade catalysts to make lasting change feel easy. Noom Health partners with top health plans and employers to offer millions of Americans a suite of metabolic health solutions – including Noom Med, Noom Weight, Noom Diabetes, and Noom Diabetes Prevention Program. Noom is building the future of preventive care and longevity medicine, leading the convergence of wearable-monitored behavior change, clinical care, diagnostics, and pharmacy into an integrated, AI-enhanced system that drives individualized, meaningful health outcomes.
Noom has received multiple grants from the NIH for digital health research and innovation and has been recognized by the CDC for its groundbreaking diabetes prevention programs. With offices in New York City and Princeton, NJ, Noom has been recognized as a TIME100 Industry Leader, on Newsweek’s Most Trusted Brands list, as well as by Inc. and Fortune as a best place to work. Learn more at noom.com, subscribe to our blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Press Contact:
Daniel Zahler
1 Note between group differences on these psychological measures were not statistically significant (eating disorder risk, p=0.119; body appreciation, p=0.582).
2 Study limitations: Body weight was self-reported via the app rather than measured in clinic, consistent with the trial’s remote design. The sample was 83% female and skewed toward participants with overweight or class I obesity (mean BMI 32.5), which may limit generalizability to other populations.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2a4e95ac-273d-4394-a0e0-21208376ed66
