Stopping obesity medications leads to weight regain and associated health risks within two years.

A recent study revealed that the health benefits of weight loss drugs do not last long after stopping their use, as weight problems and associated health risk factors return in less than two years on average.

According to an analysis of data from previous studies, patients who stopped taking obesity medications began to regain weight at an average rate of about 0.4 kilograms per month, with the expectation that they would return to their pre-treatment weight in about 1 year and 7 months.

The analysis included data from 9,341 patients with obesity or overweight who were treated in 37 studies using 18 different weight-loss drugs.

Return of health risk factors

According to a report in The BMJ, the heart health benefits of weight-loss drugs disappear after they are stopped, with blood pressure and cholesterol returning to pre-treatment levels in about a year and four months.

The researchers noted that half of the patients included in the studies used GLP-1 drugs, including 1,776 patients who received newer and more effective drugs such as semaglutide, marketed under the names Ozempic and Wegovi, and terzipatide, sold under the names Mongaro and Zipound.

Faster weight recovery

The results showed that the rate of weight regain was faster in patients who used semaglutide and terzepatide, averaging about 0.8 kilograms per month compared to other weight loss drugs.

The researchers concluded that weight regain is faster after stopping weight loss medications compared to weight management programs that rely on changing behavior and lifestyle, regardless of how much weight the patient lost during treatment.

The study was unable to determine whether some patients were more able than others to maintain weight after losing it.

The study’s lead researcher, Dimitrios Koutokides, said that weight-loss drugs are effective as long as they are used, but their effect diminishes after they are stopped, noting that identifying patients who are able to maintain the weight lost remains one of the biggest challenges in this field.

The study concluded that weight returns about four times faster after stopping obesity drugs compared to diet and exercise, with most of the lost weight regained within one year among users of the newer drugs.