Patients regain 60% of weight lost on GLP-1 drugs within a year of stopping

Credit: Getty Images/Ahmet Yarali

By Olivia Bowthorpe

Patients regain 60% of weight lost on GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs within a year of stopping treatment, according to a systematic review by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

They warned that if the regained weight is predominantly fat, patients could end up with a worse body composition than before starting treatment.

The team analysed 48 published studies, including six randomised controlled trials involving 3,236 participants, to model weight trajectories after stopping drugs such as semaglutide (sold as Wegovy and Ozempic).

Their findings, published in eClinicalMedicine, show rapid initial weight regain that progressively slows. By 52 weeks after cessation, patients had regained 60% of their original weight loss. Projections beyond one year suggest weight regain continues but at a slower rate, eventually plateauing at approximately 75% of the original weight loss.

The study was led by Brajan Budini, a Cambridge medical student, who used trial data and statistical modelling to track how body weight changes after stopping GLP-1RAs. Patterns of weight regain were broadly similar across different types of GLP-1RAs.