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The New York University Langone Health study included 18,228 American adults who discontinued GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy. The average duration of medication use was 258 days. Participants took semaglutide (54%), liraglutide (39%), and tirzepatide (7%). The average patient age was 55 years, with an average body mass index of 39 kg/m². Results were presented at Obesity Week 2025.
At the time of medication discontinuation, participants' average weight loss was 10.1%. Patients with type 2 diabetes experienced 9.7% body weight reduction, while those without the disease achieved 11.1%.
The most concerning data involves patients with maximum therapeutic effect. Those who lost 20% or more of initial body weight regained an average of 9.2% after medication discontinuation. With less pronounced weight loss (up to 10% from baseline), weight regain averaged 5.1%.
The frequency of weight regain progressively increased: from 4.5% three months after treatment cessation to 7.5% at one year.
These findings confirm that pharmacological obesity therapy cannot be considered an isolated solution to the excess weight problem. GLP-1 class medications should be used as a component of a comprehensive program including lifestyle modification, dietary behavior correction, and regular physical activity.
Treatment efficacy also depended on patients' baseline body mass index. With BMI below 25 kg/m², average weight loss was 8.2%, whereas in people with BMI 40 kg/m² and above it reached 10.3%.
"Pharmacological therapy is indispensable in two key situations: first, for patients with early-stage obesity when health status requires weight loss but indications for surgery don't yet exist. Second, for correcting weight regain or recurrence of comorbidities after bariatric interventions," comments Vladislav Davydov, MD, PhD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Surgery, Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at SM-Clinic.
According to the expert, about 25-30% of patients encounter weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy and 10-15% after bypass operations in the long term (5 years and beyond). "In their case, medication use is absolutely justified and effective. There are also limitations of pharmacological therapy: first, the necessity of continuous use. After discontinuation, weight returns in most cases," Davydov notes.
The study authors emphasize the need to develop strategies for maintaining achieved results after completing pharmacological therapy.
In Russia, obesity treatment employs a comprehensive approach including pharmacological therapy (including tablet semaglutide), bariatric operations, comorbidity treatment, and aesthetic defect correction. More details in the Marus Media special project.
Source: Medscape
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