A recent study revealed that people who stop consuming popular weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are expected to rapidly regain much of their weight.
Researchers assessed 37 earlier studies involving about 9,300 people who used 13 different GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, sold under brand names Wegovy, Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound.
The analysis revealed that most people returned close to their starting weight within nearly 18 months of stopping the medication.
On average, users of the most common GLP-1 drugs lost around 33 pounds while on treatment but regained about 22 pounds within a year of discontinuing use.
It is important to note that weight gain occurred nearly four times faster as compared to the people who lost weight through diet and exercise alone.
Health benefits associated with weight loss, including hypotension and cholesterol, also ended over time, with most people returning to pre-treatment levels within roughly 17 months.
Study author and physiology researcher at Oxford University stated, “What was particularly striking was just how fast the weight was regained.
A genetics professor at the University of Cambridge who reviewed the findings Giles Yeo stated, "Like most drugs, with the exception of vaccines, they typically only work when you’re on them,”
Yeo compared GLP-1 drugs to blood pressure medicine.
“When your blood pressure is normalized, no one ever says, ‘Gee, I’m going to now stop taking my pill,’ " he told The Post. "Because what happens if you stop is, almost immediately, your blood pressure will become abnormal again. Now, clearly it takes longer to regain weight, but the same is going to be true for these weight loss drugs.”
Researchers stress that building long-term healthy habits, including exercise, while on the drugs may help reduce weight regain after stopping.
