A new study published in The BMJ shows that people who stop taking weight loss drugs often gain the weight back and lose many of the health benefits they had gained.
These health benefits include improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other markers linked to heart disease and diabetes.
The researchers found that after people stop using these medications, they tend to regain about 0.4 kilograms (nearly 1 pound) each month.
Within less than two years, their weight and health markers usually return to where they were before treatment. This rate of weight regain is nearly four times faster than what is typically seen when people lose weight through diet and exercise alone.
The researchers concluded that while these drugs can help people lose weight at first, they may not be enough on their own to help people keep the weight off in the long run.
The study focused on a new class of weight loss drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. These include medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide, which have recently become very popular.
They work by helping people feel full sooner and by reducing appetite. These drugs have been shown to help many people lose a significant amount of weight. However, about half of the people who start using them stop within a year.
To understand what happens after people stop taking the drugs, researchers from the University of Oxford looked at data from 37 previous studies involving more than 9,000 adults. These studies compared weight loss drugs with non-drug options like diet and lifestyle programs or placebo pills.
On average, participants had used weight loss drugs for about 39 weeks and were followed for another 32 weeks after they stopped. The data showed that after stopping the drugs, most people gradually regained the weight they had lost, along with the improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and other health markers.
Even though the researchers found some limitations in the studies they reviewed—such as a lack of long-term follow-up and a small number of studies focused on the newest drugs—the results were consistent across different methods of analysis. This adds strength to the findings.
The study also found that people regained weight faster after stopping the medications than after stopping diet and lifestyle programs. This was true no matter how much weight they lost during treatment.
Experts say these findings show that weight loss drugs are not a magic solution. While they can help with weight loss, people still need to follow healthy lifestyle habits like eating well and staying active. Long-term weight control likely requires a combination of medicine and healthy habits, rather than relying on drugs alone.
The study also raises important questions about how to make weight loss treatments more effective over time. The researchers suggest that future studies should focus on finding affordable and sustainable ways to help people maintain a healthy weight after treatment ends.
In a related opinion piece, a U.S. expert pointed out that people should know about the high number of people who stop taking these medications and what happens afterward. He said healthy habits should still be the main focus of obesity treatment, and medications should be used to support—not replace—those habits.
He added that healthy food choices and regular exercise don’t just help control weight—they also improve overall health in many other ways.
If you care about weight, please read studies about diet that can treat fatty liver disease, obesity, and hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people.
For more information about weight, please see recent studies about how to curb your cravings for ready-to-eat foods, and results showing what you can eat to speed your metabolism up.
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