Study Finds Weight Returns Within Two Years After Stopping Weight-Loss Jabs

People who stop using 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 9,300 participants using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. On average, participants regained weight at a rate of 0.4kg per month after stopping treatment, returning to their original weight within 1.7 years. The regain happened almost four times faster than among people following behavioural weight-loss programmes such as diet or exercise plans. Researchers also found that improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol reversed within 1.4 years of stopping medication. Experts stress this reflects obesity as a chronic condition rather than a failure of the drugs. Organisations including Diabetes UK and the NHS say weight-loss medicines must be paired with long-term lifestyle support to sustain benefits.