It was a big study
This was a comprehensive analysis by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Biomedical Research Centre, looking at multiple studies on weight loss drugs. A clear finding was that life after weight loss drugs seems to lead to faster weight gain compared to losing weight just by traditional dieting. This underlines the SlimrChat community advice: for long-term weight loss success you need to have a plan – before, during and after treatments.
So what did the study show?
There were some positives and negatives:
Positive – newer weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro lead to people losing weight initially more significantly, compared with older treatments. On average this loss was c.16kg.
Negative – when people stopped weight loss drugs they gained about 0.8kg per month thereafter. This means, without having a maintenance plan successfully in place, they could return to their original weight within 2 years. For those on the older types of GLP-1 treatments this process was shown to be quicker – within a year.
What the experts say
Professor Susan Jebb, a co-author of the study, stated that these medications are “very effective” for weight loss. However, if used as directed by guideline they might “only offer a temporary solution”.
She speculated that one reason for faster weight gain after the drugs might be that they significantly suppress hunger, meaning people may not develop the helpful “behavioural strategies in place that help keep the weight off” that are often required when not using the medication.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said at the time that it “shouldn’t surprise anyone if people regain weight having used GLP-1 drugs without seriously attempting to improve their lifestyle”.
Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, claimed there was “no evidence to indicate that patients will completely regain all the weight after stopping the medication.” However, their own trial findings showed participants regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss within a year of withdrawal.
SlimrChat view
This new study won’t be a surprise for many of us. We all know, and it’s common sense, that our weight loss journey has to include a range of changes to our lifestyles and habits. There is no doubt that these drugs work for many of us – they definitely work short term by suppressing appetite and reducing food noise and they continue to work as long as they are taken; the problem is that they are costly and for the vast majority of us, a long term dependence on the drugs is out of reach. Therefore, we need to take the opportunity the drugs allow us – and that is an opportunity to reset – to find healthier habits (eating healthier, less reliance on ultra processed foods, more exercise etc) that we can live with and will last, that is the best way to maintain weight long term. That’s why we started SlimrChat to be a safe and positive place to learn about everyone’s experiences and to easily share yours.
