Camilla Jessen
They might work while you’re on them, but then you need to work out what to do afterwards.
Weight-loss injections can help people shed pounds fast, but researchers are warning that the results may not last once the medication ends.
A new analysis suggests many users put much of the weight back on within a year.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge reviewed evidence on appetite-suppressing weight-loss drugs and found “significant weight regain following cessation” once people stopped taking the injections.
Most weight returns
The team, publishing in eClinicalMedicine, examined six trials involving about 3,200 people.
Across the studies, participants regained around 75 percent of the weight they had lost over the 60 weeks after stopping the medication.
The findings suggest the injections can produce meaningful weight loss during treatment, but maintaining it requires a plan for what happens next.
‘Worse off than before’
Brajan Budini, a medical student at Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine and Trinity College, warned that how weight returns could matter as much as how much returns.
“If the regained weight is disproportionately fat, individuals may ultimately be worse off than before in their fat-to-lean mass ratio, which may have adverse consequences for their health,” he said.
Fellow medical student Steven Luo said people coming off the jabs may need structured help with diet and exercise to keep results from reversing.
Caution on projections
Dr Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge said the data tracked people for up to 52 weeks after stopping, at which point the average regain was about 60 percent.
She cautioned that the 75 percent figure is a projection beyond the observed period.
“Projection that weight regain will plateau at around 75 percent of the weight lost is based on extrapolation beyond 52 weeks using a nonlinear exponential recovery model,” she said.
She added that longer-term research is needed to confirm whether that plateau happens outside trial settings, though the pattern matches previous withdrawal studies of semaglutide and tirzepatide.
What helps reduce regain
Dr Adam Collins, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey, said weight changes often happen quickly at first, then slow and settle at a new level.
He noted that some studies showed less regain when people had ongoing support after stopping medication, including lifestyle interventions or continuing with smaller doses.
Collins also pointed to evidence suggesting some people can “overshoot their original weight” after discontinuing treatment.
Sources: University of Cambridge, eClinicalMedicine, University of Surrey, LadBible
