Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have had a meteoric rise in recent years, with benefits like weight loss and help with other health issues. But according to a recent study, those benefits fade within two years of patients stopping their treatment.
According to a study published in the BMJ, data from 9,341 obese or overweight patients treated in 37 studies with any of 18 different weight-loss drugs showed that they regained about one pound on average after stopping the drugs.
The same study said they were projected to return to their pre-treatment weight in about two years.
But weight was not the only thing that was projected to return after stopping the treatment. According to the same study, health risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which saw benefits while taking the drugs, were projected to return to their old levels within 1.4 years.
GLP-1 medications tested as well
About half of the patients studied took newer GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as tirzepatide, which is sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. According to the study, the weight regain rate was faster for these drugs, with an average of 1.8 pounds per month.
“But because people on semaglutide or tirzepatide lose more weight in the first place, they all end up returning to baseline at approximately the same time,” study senior researcher Dimitrios Koutoukidis of Oxford University told Reuters.
Weight loss drugs have shown some success
Weight loss drugs like the ones tested in the study have shown large levels of success in the United States in recent years. Back in October 2025, a survey from the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index showed that there were an estimated 7.6 million fewer obese people in the United States compared to 2022.
In 2022, the U.S. adult obesity rate was a record-high 39.9%, while in 2025, that rate gradually declined to 37%. While the obesity rate dropped, the usage of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy doubled between 2025 and 2024, according to the same study.
Contributing: Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY; Reuters
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Here's how fast you can gain weight after ending GLP-1, per study
latest_posts
- 1
Netanyahu leads meeting on West Bank riots, Katz defends axing administrative detention for Jews - 2Solar storms can trigger auroras on Earth. This star’s explosion could destroy a planet’s atmosphere
- 3The most effective method to Pick the Right Material Organization: Your Definitive Aide
- 47 Powerful Methods for forestalling Telephone Overheating: Keep Your Gadget Cool
- 5Two policemen injured at religious youth protest in Jerusalem marking Ahuvia Sandak's death
- How federal officials talk about health is shifting in troubling ways – and that change makes me worried for my autistic child
- Kate Hudson, 46, says she doesn't need long workouts to feel good
- Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite for 'confidential commercial customer' (video)
- Can scientists detect life without knowing what it looks like? Research using machine learning offers a new way
- 5 Indoor Plants That Further develop Air Quality
- 'Spending more on gas than groceries:' Rising fuel prices drive more San Antonio families to the Food Bank amid Iran war
- Extraordinary Guinness World Records That Will Astound You
- Israel's ban on unsupervised reporters in Gaza causes strategic harm to legitimacy
- The Secret Destinations Amex Says Will Be More Popular Than Bali by 2026
