An interesting new study has revealed what exactly happens once people stop taking popular weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic.
Researchers found that while the treatment was relatively effective in managing one's weight, people who are overweight or obese regained weight much faster after quitting the medication.
The review specifically focused on drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, including semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.
The growing appeal of these drugs is largely driven by their ability to help users shed about 15 to 20 per cent of their body weight, often with little lifestyle adjustment required.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), analysed data from 6,000 adults who used weight loss medication and a further 3,000 who followed behavioral programs, such as exercise.
Researchers observed that once the medication was discontinued, participants gained back an average of 0.4 kilograms each month, translating to nearly 10 kilograms regained in the first year after stopping Ozempic.
Researchers also deployed statistical modelling, and estimated that risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, including high blood pressure and cholestrol, returned to pre-treatment levels, less than two years after quitting weight-loss medication.
“What we found particularly shocking was just how fast weight was regained after people stopped taking medication,” said lead author Sam West of the University of Oxford.
Meanwhile, those in non-medication programs generally lost less weight, but it took them an average of four years to regain it.
Experts have since concluded that the weight-loss medications, despite their effectiveness, are not a quick fix. Obesity specialists have often compared the regaining of weight to chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, which typically requires long-term treatment.
So what's the way forward? According to experts, while weight-loss medications are effective, they should be viewed as a starting point , not a cure for obesity.
"Sustainable treatment will likely require combination approaches, longer-term strategies, and therapies that reshape how the brain interprets energy balance, not just how much people eat," Garron Dodd, a metabolic neuroscience researcher at the University of Melbourne, analysed.
Late last year, scientists at Jiangnan University in China found that there is a specific gut microbe known as Bacteroides vulgatus, which can naturally help regulate blood sugar levels and cut sugar cravings - two effects that are associated with the use of Ozempic's active ingredient, semaglutide.
