People who stop taking weight loss jabs regain all the weight originally lost in under two years, significantly faster than those on any other weight loss plan, according to a landmark study led by academics at the University of Oxford and published in the BMJ.
The analysis of 37 studies involving 9,341 participants found that weight was regained at a rate of 0.4kg per month after stopping medication, with participants returning to their original weight within an average of 1.7 years. The rate of weight regain was almost four times faster compared with behavioural programmes, regardless of the amount lost during treatment.
Dr Sam West, of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, 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. This isn’t a failing of the medicines – it reflects the nature of obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition.”
The study also found that benefits on cardio-metabolic health markers, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, returned to original levels within 1.4 years of stopping treatment. Dr Faye Riley, research communications lead at Diabetes UK, said: “Weight loss drugs can be effective tools... but this research reinforces that they are not a quick fix.”
Katharine Jenner, executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said regaining weight after stopping treatment “reflects the reality of living in a food environment that continually pushes people towards unhealthy options.” An NHS spokesperson added that the treatments “must be paired with behavioural and lifestyle wraparound support including advice on healthier diets and physical activity.”
