People who stop weight-loss drugs may gain back weight and lose heart benefits
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- Reviewed by Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
People who stop taking weight-loss medications such as semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) or tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) quickly regain weight and lose the heart health benefits associated with the drugs, according to an analysis published online Jan. 7, 2026, by The BMJ.
Researchers reviewed 37 earlier studies involving 9,341 adults with obesity. All the studies compared the weight-loss medications against an inactive treatment or nondrug weight-loss approaches such as diet and exercise. Participants who took weight-loss drugs were treated for an average of about 10 months. The studies tracked participants for a variety of time periods, none longer than two years.
Using statistical modeling, the researchers estimated that people who stopped taking weight-loss medications regained an average of nearly a pound a month and gained back all the weight they lost in less than two years - four times faster than people who lost weight without taking medication. Heart health markers such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels also tended to revert to pretreatment levels within about a year and a half after stopping the weight-loss drug. Healthy eating and regular exercise should remain the foundation for obesity treatment and management, with weight-loss drugs used to support such efforts, the study authors said.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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