Experts observed that, on average, patients lost 8.3 kg while using the medications. However, after the suspension, many ended up regaining all the weight lost within about two years, at an average rate of 0.4 kg per month.
For comparison purposes, the weight regain rate was four times higher than that recorded in behavioral programs, such as conventional diets. Although weight loss in these methods is slower, participants tend to maintain results for longer, with an average monthly gain of around 0.1 kg.
People using these medications need to be aware of the risk of rapid weight regain once treatment ends. Susan Jebb, one of the study’s authors, in an interview with the BBC.
Sam West, professor at the Nuffield Department of Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, highlights that resorting to medication alone is not enough. The old adage of a complete weight loss plan, which includes sustainable lifestyle changes, is essential.
This is not a fault with the medications. It reflects the nature of obesity as a chronic and recurrent condition. The warning is for short-term use without a broader approach to long-term weight control.
The boom in slimming pens
So-called weight loss pens act in the brain by stimulating the GLP-1 receptor. The effect occurs especially in the hypothalamus, the area responsible for controlling hunger, reducing appetite.