Rebound Weight Gain Common After Discontinuing Antiobesity Medications

FRIDAY, July 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Antiobesity medications (AOMs) yield weight loss during use, followed by weight regain after discontinuation of treatment, according to a review published online July 21 in BMC Medicine.

Han Wu, from the Peking University People”s Hospital in Beijing, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to explore the long-term effects of AOMs on body weight. The review included randomized controlled trials of AOMs conducted within populations for at least four weeks and followed for four or more weeks after discontinuation. Weight change was reported during drug treatment and after drug discontinuation.

The researchers found that compared with the control group, AOM treatment had weight loss effects at week 4 after discontinuation (weighted mean difference, −0.32 kg; 95 percent confidence interval, −3.60 to 2.7; P = 0.85). Compared with the control group, AOMs were associated with significant weight regain at eight weeks after drug discontinuation (weighted mean difference, 1.50 kg; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.32 to 1.68; P < 0.0001), a trend that continued through 12 and 20 weeks. Significant weight regain after 12 weeks of drug discontinuation was only seen in studies with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist-related drugs. Significant weight gain after drug discontinuation was seen in studies in which weight loss was greater during treatment than in the control group and in studies in which lifestyle interventions were continued.

“According to the trajectory of weight regain, body weight continued to decrease within four weeks after treatment discontinuation and then started to show a gradually increasing trend after eight weeks,” the authors write.

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