Weight Regain Common Within Two Years After Stopping Weight Loss Injections, Finds Oxford Study

A recent study found that people who stopped taking weight loss injections regained all their lost weight within two years. The study was published in the BMJ and was led by researchers from the University of Oxford. It included a review of 37 existing studies regarding weight loss medication, and included 9,341 participants. Weight loss injections, also known as GLP-1 agonists, were developed to treat diabetes. They work by mimicking the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone to increase insulin release, curb appetite, slow gastric emptying, and lower blood sugar.

The researchers said that the average duration of weight loss treatment was 39 weeks and the average follow up period was 32 weeks. The analysis found that on average, people who had stopped taking the medication regained 0.4kg per month. Participants regained their original weight within an average of 1.7 years after stopping any type of weight loss medication. The researchers found that people who were on any kind of weight loss medication lost an average of 8.3kg during treatment. However, they regained 4.8kg within the first year of stopping the medication.

The researchers in a statement said that they found "weight regain after stopping drugs was faster than after ending behavioural weight loss programmes such as diet and exercise support by approximately 0.3 kg (0.7 pounds) per month."

Sam West, a postdoctoral researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said, "These medicines are transforming obesity treatment and can achieve important weight loss. However, our research shows that people tend to regain weight rapidly after stopping - faster than we see with behavioural programmes."

He added: "This isn't a failing of the medicines - it reflects the nature of obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition. It sounds a cautionary note for short-term use without a more comprehensive approach to long-term weight management, and highlights the importance of primary prevention."

Previous studies have suggested weight loss medication can also have a beneficial impact on other areas of a patient's health, as seen in the study into drugs that could halve heart patients' risk of an early death.

The study also found that weight and risk markers for diabetes and heart disease were predicted to return to pre-treatment levels in less than two years after stopping treatment.

Almost half of the patients had taken GLP-1 medications, including 1,776 who received the newer and more effective drugs semaglutide, which is sold as Ozempic and Wegovy and tirzepatide, which is sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. The study found that the weight regain rate was faster with semaglutide and tirzepatide, averaging nearly 1.8 pounds (0.8 kg) per month.

Dimitrios Koutoukidis of Oxford University and senior study researcher said, "But because people on semaglutide or tirzepatide lose more weight in the first place, they all end up returning to baseline at approximately the same time." This is nearly 1.5 years with these new drugs versus 1.7 years after stopping any of the drugs. Koutoukidis added, "Understanding who does well and who does not is a bit of a 'holy grail' question in weight-loss research, but nobody has the answer to that yet."

Ozempic, the blockbuster weight-loss drug by Novo Nordisk, was launched in India on December 12. In India, the drug will be marketed for adults with type-2 diabetes, unlike in the US and Europe where it is also sold as Wegovy for weight loss. Ozempic is the brand name for semaglutide, a type of medicine called a GLP-1 receptor agonist. The drug is available in three dosage forms: 0.25mg, 0.5 mg, and 1mg, in a single-use pre-filled pen called Novofine Needles designed for painless subcutaneous injection.

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