Ozempic: two-thirds of lost weight returns after stopping
The STEP 1 trial quantifies Ozempic's rebound effect: two-thirds of the weight lost is regained within a year of stopping the injection.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Ozempic: once you stop, two-thirds of the weight comes back
So what happens when the injection is discontinued? The evidence answers with uncomfortable data: most of the kilos come back. The STEP 1 trial, with semaglutide 2.4 mg, showed an average loss of 17.3% of body weight at 68 weeks. One year after withdrawing the drug, patients had regained 11.6 of those points: two out of every three kilos. Only 5.6% remain below their starting weight.
What shatters the illusion
With tirzepatide (Mounjaro), the SURMOUNT-4 trial, published in JAMA, is even clearer: a 20.9% loss over 36 weeks; those who continued lost another 5.5%, while those switched to placebo regained 14%. Of those who continued, 89.5% kept 80% of the weight off. In other words: the drug works, but only while you keep injecting it.
The debate: habits, mindset and business
Some argue that without a change in habits, rebound is inevitable. Others point to the mental component: anxiety and stress as drivers of overeating. The drug also reduces the urge to drink and smoke, a "side effect" almost as interesting as the weight loss. On the economic side, treatment costs around 200 euros a month; if the weight returns once you stop, the patient is a customer for life. The industry is in no hurry for a cure when the chronic version is more profitable. Final irony: the injection slims you down, but it doesn't re-educate: when it disappears, the appetite returns.
So what happens when the injection is discontinued? The evidence answers with uncomfortable data: most of the kilos come back. The STEP 1 trial, with semaglutide 2.4 mg, showed an average loss of 17.3% of body weight at 68 weeks. One year after withdrawing the drug, patients had regained 11.6 of those points: two out of every three kilos. Only 5.6% remain below their starting weight.
What shatters the illusion
With tirzepatide (Mounjaro), the SURMOUNT-4 trial, published in JAMA, is even clearer: a 20.9% loss over 36 weeks; those who continued lost another 5.5%, while those switched to placebo regained 14%. Of those who continued, 89.5% kept 80% of the weight off. In other words: the drug works, but only while you keep injecting it.
The debate: habits, mindset and business
Some argue that without a change in habits, rebound is inevitable. Others point to the mental component: anxiety and stress as drivers of overeating. The drug also reduces the urge to drink and smoke, a "side effect" almost as interesting as the weight loss. On the economic side, treatment costs around 200 euros a month; if the weight returns once you stop, the patient is a customer for life. The industry is in no hurry for a cure when the chronic version is more profitable. Final irony: the injection slims you down, but it doesn't re-educate: when it disappears, the appetite returns.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (11 replies).
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