MA Medical School Gets $2M From CDC To Study GLP-1 Lifestyle Changes

WORCESTER, MA — An upcoming trial at UMass Chan Medical School will assess the effectiveness of lifestyle changes in patients taking GLP-1, which is a drug that regulates blood sugar and appetite by increasing insulin secretion.

GLP-1s, like Ozempic, have more recently been used for weight loss. The school was awarded $2 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to complete a study evaluating the effectiveness of GLP-1 therapies for managing obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.

The funding will be used to launch the school's Lifestyle Change Implementation Research Network Collaborating Center at UMass Chan.

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“We’re going to look at what patients using GLP-1s are experiencing from early on in their journey, including changes in physical activity, diet, skeletal muscle mass, side-effect management, medication adherence and quality of life,” Dr. Jamie Faro, assistant professor of population & quantitative health sciences, and co-leader of the program. “We are hopeful this study addresses how lifestyle change interventions can impact these areas when implemented alongside patient’s medication.”

Enrollment in the study will begin in early 2026 and will focus on 220 patients in the Worcester area. It will use the digital lifestyle change program Noom Weight and Noom's GLP-1 Companion.

Participants will get a wearable device to track their physical activity over eight months, and will be asked to complete questionnaires and dietary recalls.

UMass Chan is just one of four funded sites to receive this award from the CDC.

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