Laut einer Studie nehmen Menschen, die mit der Einnahme von Injektionen zur Gewichtsabnahme wie Ozempic aufhören, in weniger als zwei Jahren wieder zu. Die Analyse ergab, dass diejenigen, die mit der Einnahme von Medikamenten aufhörten, im Vergleich zu anderen Abnehmplänen viermal schneller an Gewicht zurückkehrten.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/07/weight-loss-jabs-regain-two-years-health-study
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**People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals**
**Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans**
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.
Weight loss medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, were originally developed as treatment for diabetes and work by mimicking the glucagon-like peptide (GLP) 1 hormone which helps people feel full.
The study, led by academics at the University of Oxford and published in the BMJ, included a review of 37 existing studies regarding weight loss medication, involving 9,341 participants. The average duration of weight loss treatment being 39 weeks while the average follow up period was 32 weeks.
On average, weight was regained at a rate of 0.4kg per month for people who had stopped taking the medication, the analysis found, with participants returning to their original weight within an average of 1.7 years after stopping any type of weight loss medication.
Specifically, people on any kind of weight loss medication lost an average of 8.3kg during treatment, but regained 4.8kg within the first year,
The rate at which weight was regained after stopping these medications was almost four times faster compared with behavioural programmes, which may include a specific diet or physical activity plan, regardless of the amount of weight that was lost during treatment.
For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj-2025-085304
its almost as if taking the drugs doesn’t miraculously change peoples behaviour and baseline physiology. Its almost as if it simply deals with a symptom rather than the root cause.
Were the post-intervention diets held constant for all the approaches to weight loss?
I dont think that stat is any different from any weight loss management system.
Im a trainer and have seen loads of people have great success on ozempic but they had developed habits that support success.
In other shock news peoples high blood pressure comes back when they stop taking their antihypertensive.
Is there a reason why people discontinue the drug instead of taking it long term for life?
This is a chronic medication. I’m maintaining a 144lbs weight loss on ozempic, you don’t just discontinue treatment. That’d be like if i stopped wearing glasses randomly and then was surprised I couldn’t see
Makes sense luckily they can now take it orally to help like other illness that need to constantly be treated
People who stop going to the gym lose their muscle growth. Does that mean gym is useless? The comments thinking this makes the medication useless make no sense. The medication can be dialed back to the minimum effectivene dose needed to achieve maintenance and taken indefinitely.
Why are we surprised by this? you still have to have willpower to not eat otherwise eating a bunch of food will make you fat again. The only permanent solution is re-programming your brain/way of life to eat the correct amount for what energy you burn.
I took ozempic and lost 20kg. I had to stop taking it about one year and a half ago and lost another 2kg.
That thing makes it easier to eat less but it’s all on you in the end
Let me guess, they went back to their original diets after they stopped.
Yeah it should be staggered or something on later amounts
They only had the drug for an average of 39 weeks. While this sounds like a long period, I do not think it is enough to unlearn (eating) habits.
It’s meant to be lifelong treatment for a chronic condition (chronic obesity). It was made pretty clear to me when I started on it a few years back. This is not some easy magic option for people who want to lose 3 kilograms before an upcoming wedding.
Anecdotally, my BMI went from 30 kg/m2 to 25 kg/m2 in six months (early 2022) while on Wegovy. My lowest BMI was 22 kg/m2 in 2023 when I had taken up coaching soccer. My current BMI is 23 kg/m2. I just finished a college degree, and I’m looking at rewarding myself with a new bicycle.
I’m taking Ozempic as it’s the only medication that successfully controls my blood sugar. I was out of it for a week, so skipped a dose and I noticed that for that entire week, I overate and overindulged.
Depends on the person. My fiancé took it for 6 months and stopped once she reached her desired weight. Started tracking her calories and exercising and didn’t put any of the weight back on. If people look at it as a jump start to weight loss rather than a cure it can be a really useful successful tool to change your life. She lost 20kg and never looked back.
This article should really mention how effective these behavioural methods are on average. Because if you think that it’s bad that ozempic patients regain the weight *after they stop taking their medicine*, you should see how effective behavioural methods are long term.
I have struggled with weight loss my whole life. A lot of people tend to think that you can return to your old life style and be fine. They don’t realize it’s a much more drawn out process including diet and lifestyle changes.
Those drugs are designed to be used long term
November: [There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests](https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/11/glp-1-drugs-improve-heart-health-but-only-if-you-keep-taking-them/).
> most participants in a clinical trial who were assigned to stop taking tirzepatide (Zepbound from Eli Lilly) not only regained significant amounts of the weight they had lost on the drug, but they also saw their cardiovascular and metabolic improvements slip away. Their blood pressure went back up, as did their cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c (used to assess glucose control levels), and fasting insulin.
My journey with Mounjaro laated 5-6 months. I lost 24kg and have kept it off for about 5 months so far.
My advice is take the lowest effective dose. Dont take a dose that removes all sensation of hunger because when you come off, you will be starving and you wouldnt have built any discipline or ‚relearned‘ what being hungry actually is. Also, obviously exercise and eat healthy. Youre not going on a diet, youre making permanent changes to your lifestyle.
You start at 2.5mg and it goes up by 2.5 to maybe like 15mg if I remember correctly? I went to 5mg and stayed on that until coming off completely. 5mg is the manufacturers reccommended ‚maintaining‘ dose. I was still hungry, but I wasn’t ravenous.
This is all anecdotal obviously, but its whats worked for me so far. Could I have lost it without the drug? Yeah probably. But after 10 years of trying, this is the only thing thats worked for me. I needed the help at the beginning so I could see and track real results. Starting a wightloss journey is hard and it takes ages. Being in a calories deficit sucks, but once you can track and see changes, it keeps you (or at least me) on track.
Tldr: internet stranger anecdotally says to use GLP-1 to relearn what being hungry actually feels like
I’d be more curious to see what happens if people stay on long enough for adipose cell turnover and reduction of the cells. Granted this is something like 10+ years.
Well yeah it’s an ongoing treatment not a vaccination for obesity.
When will they make a cheap version? It would change so many lives.
https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/two-years-after-stopping-glp-1s-most-patients-sustain-at-least-some-weight-loss
This study is a bit more optimistic
It’s almost like those medications weren’t designed to be used for weight loss and wasn’t the solution people thought it was.
Well, weight I lost in a year with hard work I can easily gain within two weeks when not going to the gym, too.
If you do not change your habits and exercise to maintain muscle mass then regaining the weight is inevitable.
They lost weight, but didn’t learn the lessons & discipline required to lose & keep that weight down.
What? People who don’t actually learn about nutrition and how to eat and rely on a drug that just makes them less hungry automatically gain weight when they stop taking the drug? I don’t believe it! Honestly though, an ozempic prescription should require nutrition classes to take the drug, for this very reason.
Food addiction is an emotional problem, weight loss drugs can get the ball rolling but you need to fix your head to stay healthy.
That’s why sustainable weight loss is recommended. More than losing weight, you need to learn how to keep it off.
Obesity is a chronic illness. why would you stop a medication for a chronic illness – When you know, the symptoms of the illness are just going to return when you stop the medication. this was a discussion several months ago on r/medicine and many of the doctors who responded, were saying exactly this (chronic illness means chronic treatment).
I’ve been overweight my entire life. i have exercised, I have dieted, I have tracked calories, I have taken fat burners, i have had disordered eating habits ….. all of the things.
the glp1 med is the first and only thing, that has actually curbed my appetite.
yes, some people have terrible diets. And some people emotionally eat, but some of us who are fat are fat, because we are hungry all the time.
I will probably be on this medication forever, and I am okay with that. i am halfway to my goal weight and when I get there, I will talk to my doctor about lowering my dose to a maintenance dose. but with this one medication, I am losing weight steadily.My blood pressure is down my a1c is norma and I feel lighter Which makes exercising much easier (and exercising is helping retain muscle mass).
This quite literally makes no sense. Obviously when you slow down the GI system with a drug, that drug is necessary to keep it slowed down.
For diabetic specifically, GLP ones and sglt2s have been absolute game changers and decreasing cardiovascular adverse events such as strokes and heart attacks over the long term. Weight loss is just a positive side effect of that.
Majority of users do not change their diet and lifestyle very much. They lose muscle mass without resistance training as an intervention and do not eat enough protein.
You guys aren’t going to believe what happens when I stop taking my anti-depressant.
Cause unfortunately most of those people never made actual lifestyle changes.