The new generation of weight-loss drugs has been hailed as a breakthrough, helping people shed pounds by controlling appetite.
But new research from Denmark shows that many people stop taking these medications far sooner than expected.
At the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Vienna, researchers reported that half of adults who began taking semaglutide, a drug in the GLP-1 receptor agonist family, discontinued it within a year.
These medicines were originally developed to treat diabetes but have since become widely prescribed for weight loss.
“Stopping treatment so early is worrying,” said Professor Reimar W. Thomsen of Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital.
“The drugs are not designed as a quick fix. Their benefits only last as long as people keep taking them, and once stopped, appetite returns and weight often comes back.”
The study drew on nationwide health records in Denmark, covering all adults without diabetes who started semaglutide for weight loss between December 2022 and October 2023.
Among more than 77,000 first-time users, over 40,000 had quit the drug within a year. Around 18% stopped within three months, 31% by six months, and 42% by nine months.
Why do so many people quit? One major reason is cost. A year’s supply of the lowest dose of semaglutide costs around 2,000 euros.
The study showed that younger adults and those living in lower-income neighborhoods were more likely to discontinue the drug, suggesting that financial barriers play a major role.
Side effects are another factor. People who had previously taken medications for stomach or intestinal problems were more likely to stop, perhaps because they were more sensitive to the drug’s common side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Those who had taken psychiatric medications or had chronic conditions like heart disease were also more likely to discontinue, possibly because of increased vulnerability to side effects.
The researchers also found differences between men and women. Men were 12% more likely to stop taking the drug than women, which may reflect lower weight-loss results, since women often respond more strongly to GLP-1 drugs.
Professor Thomsen pointed out that this trend is troubling because people with health issues linked to obesity stand to gain the most from staying on treatment. If they discontinue, they may miss out on important long-term benefits.
While the study sheds light on why so many people stop semaglutide early, it does have limitations.
Researchers could not measure factors like individual income, insurance coverage, or how much weight people lost, all of which may affect adherence. They also noted that mild side effects are not always recorded in health registries, so the true rates of discomfort may be higher.
Despite these gaps, the findings raise important questions about how to make these powerful but costly medications more sustainable for real-world use.
For millions struggling with obesity, the challenge is not just losing weight with these drugs, but being able to stay on them long enough to keep it off.
Source: KSR.
