Weight Regain Faster After Stopping Meds Than After Stopping Behavioral Weight Management Programs

MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Cessation of weight management medications (WMMs) is followed by rapid weight regain and reversal of beneficial effects on cardiometabolic markers, according to a review published online Jan. 7 in The BMJ.

Sam West, Ph.D., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to quantify and compare the rate of weight regain after cessation of WMMs in adults with overweight or obesity.

Based on 37 included studies (9,341 participants), the average monthly rate of weight regain was 0.4 kg (mixed model, 0.3 kg monthly versus control in randomized controlled trials) during an average treatment duration of 39 weeks and an average follow-up of 32 weeks. Within 1.4 years after the cessation of WMMs, all cardiometabolic markers were projected to return to baseline. Compared with cessation of behavioral weight management programs, weight regain was faster after cessation of WMMs (by 0.3 kg monthly), independent of initial weight loss. 

“GLP-1 receptor agonists should not be relied on as a magic cure for treating obesity,” Qi Sun, M.D., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, writes in an accompanying editorial. “Healthy dietary and lifestyle practices should remain the foundation for obesity treatment and management, with medications such as GLP-1 receptor agonists used as adjuncts.”

Three authors disclosed ties to the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

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