How to stop taking weight loss drugs, without the weight returning

Weight gain is likely for anyone coming off weight-loss drugs – but it's not inevitable

- by HATTY WILLMOTH

The new class of weight-loss drugs promises staggering results and, in most cases, delivers them. But if, after months of weekly injections, you hit your target weight and decide to stop taking the medication, there's something you should know: you're likely to put the weight back on.

Studies on these drugs have shown that people with obesity can lose 15-20 per cent of their body weight in just over a year. But if they halt the treatment, the research shows they're likely to regain two-thirds of that lost weight back over the following 12 months.

These drugs – known collectively as GLP-1 agonists, but prescribed under various brand names (including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) - mimic the effect of naturally produced hormones that make you feel full. By reducing your appetite, the drugs help you eat less and lose weight - but their effects only last as long as you take them.

That's true whether you're taking them to get a smaller waistline or as a protective measure against weight-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The solution to this problem might seem simple: keep taking the drug. But not everyone can face a lifetime of weekly injections, let alone the high costs of the medication and its possible side effects.

"Taking a treatment forever is probably not what people are looking for, particularly if they're paying for it themselves," says Prof Susan Jebb OBE, a nutrition scientist at the University of Oxford. "People want to lose weight and keep it off."

Roughly half of the people who start taking a weight-loss drug decide to stop within a year. If that's you, while regaining the weight you lost is likely, there are strategies you can adopt to help keep it off.

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