More than half a million Australians are now using GLP‑1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, and a new study suggests many people could see most of their weight loss — and heart health benefits — disappear in under two years after they stop taking them.
The new research, published in British Medical Journal (BMJ), looked at adults taking medications approved for weight loss and compared them to people in behavioural weight management programs or on placebo. Across 37 trials and observational studies involving 9,341 people, participants were on weight loss drugs for an average of 39 weeks and then followed up for roughly 32 weeks after stopping treatment.
After people came off the drugs, their weight started climbing again at an average rate of 0.4kg a month. The researchers estimated that, at that pace, most or all of the weight lost during treatment would be regained in less than two years, with people projected to return to their pre‑treatment weight at around 1.7 years.
The study was not just about the number on the scale — it also tracked cardiometabolic markers like blood pressure, cholesterol and measures linked to diabetes risk. Those risk markers improved while people were on medication, but modelling suggested they would “return to pre‑treatment levels within 1.4 years” of stopping the drugs.
The authors also found that weight regain was “almost four times faster” after stopping weight loss drugs than after finishing lifestyle‑based weight loss programs, regardless of how much weight had been lost during treatment.
The authors were clear that this pattern of regain does not mean the drugs fail to work in the first place — they do help people lose weight while they are being taken. But they did write: “This evidence suggests that despite their success in achieving initial weight loss, these drugs alone may not be sufficient for long term weight control.”
In their conclusion, they added: “This evidence cautions against short term use of weight management medications, emphasises the need for further research into cost effective strategies for long term weight control, and reinforces the importance of primary prevention.”
“This study confirms what we are increasingly seeing in clinical practice. When people stop weight-loss medications, weight often returns quickly, and the metabolic benefits fade,” Professor Garron Dodd, head of the Metabolic Neuroscience Laboratory at the the University of Melbourne, said.
“GLP-1 therapies, like Ozempic and Mounjaro, show us what is possible, but they also expose their limitations. If benefits disappear quickly after stopping treatment, we need to ask deeper questions about durability, resilience, and metabolic memory.
“The brain is not just responding to weight loss, it is actively defending body weight. Until we understand and target those central mechanisms, long-term success will remain elusive.”
A US researcher, writing in a linked editorial, said the findings “casted doubt on the notion that GLP‑1 receptor agonists are a perfect cure for obesity” and warned that “people taking GLP‑1 receptor agonists should be aware of the high discontinuation rate and the consequences of cessation of medications”.
He also stressed that “healthy dietary and lifestyle practises should remain the foundation for obesity treatment and management, with medications such as GLP‑1 receptor agonists used as adjuncts”. That line matters, because it suggests these drugs are best seen as one tool in a long‑term care plan, not a shortcut that replaces everything else.
How big GLP‑1 use has become in Australia?
In Australia, GLP‑1 use has grown extremely quickly in just a few years. A University of New South Wales study estimated that “close to half a million people (or approximately two per cent of the adult population) currently use GLP‑1‑style medications for both medical and/or weight loss purposes”, reflecting almost a ten‑fold rise in sales since 2020.
At the same time, regulators and health bodies are trying to keep up. The World Health Organisation has released its first guidance on drugs like Ozempic for obesity, supporting long‑term use in some adults but highlighting concerns around cost, access, long‑term safety and mental health. In Australia, the medicines regulator has issued safety alerts for weight loss drugs, including GLP‑1s, and flagged reports of possible psychiatric side effects, while demand continues to surge.
Taken together, the picture that emerges is less “miracle jab” and more long‑term, chronic condition management.
Lead image: Getty
The post Most People On Ozempic Regain The Weight Within Two Years Of Stopping, Study Finds appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
