Weight Regain Follows Rapidly After Stopping Weight-Loss Jabs, Major Study Finds

People who stop taking weight-loss injections regain the weight they lost in under two years, according to a major new study. The analysis, led by researchers at the University of Oxford and published in the BMJ, reviewed 37 studies involving more than 9,000 participants using GLP-1 agonist drugs. These medications, originally developed for diabetes, help suppress appetite by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone. The study found that after stopping treatment, weight returned at an average rate of 0.4kg per month, with participants regaining all lost weight within about 1.7 years. This pace was almost four times faster than weight regain seen after behavioural programmes such as diet or exercise plans. Researchers also found that improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol reversed within roughly 1.4 years of stopping medication. Experts stressed this reflects obesity’s chronic nature rather than failure of the drugs, highlighting the need for long-term support. Organisations including Diabetes UK and the NHS emphasised that weight-loss drugs must be paired with sustained lifestyle and behavioural interventions to maintain benefits.