Public Health & Obesity Treatment

A new University of Oxford–led analysis in The BMJ finds that people who stop GLP‑1 weight‑loss medications regain weight much faster than after quitting diet or exercise programs and see earlier improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and other metabolic markers largely disappear within two years. Pooling 37 studies with more than 9,000 participants treated for an average of 39 weeks, researchers found patients regained about 0.9 pounds per month after discontinuation, with body weight and diabetes and heart‑disease risk measures projected to return to pre‑treatment levels in under 24 months. The review suggests weight came back on nearly four times faster than after changing or quitting lifestyle programs, and notes that only eight of the studies involved newer GLP‑1 drugs with follow‑up limited to 12 months after stopping. In an accompanying editorial, Brigham and Women’s and Harvard physician Qi Sun wrote that the findings "cast doubt" on GLP‑1s as a "perfect cure for obesity" and stressed that healthy diet and lifestyle should remain the foundation of treatment, with GLP‑1s used as adjuncts. The article also highlights high discontinuation rates in real‑world use—often due to cost and side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue and hair thinning—underscoring that many U.S. patients may face rapid weight and risk rebound if they cannot stay on these expensive drugs long term.