Study finds that stopping the drug Tirzepatide leads to weight regain in obese or overweight people.
- All participants in this study had a diet with a deficit of 500 kcal per day and at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
- Tirzepatide was administered once weekly by subcutaneous injection.
- The study reveals that obese or overweight participants who received a placebo regained weight.
Among the popular weight loss medications, Tirzepatide is often mentioned as an effective option for overweight or obese people.
According to a study called “SURMONT-4”, published in JAMAthis subcutaneous medication administered once a week, combined with a healthy diet and physical activity, has a proven effect on reducing body weight in people suffering from obesity or overweight (who do not do not suffer from diabetes).
Well tolerated by patients, tirzepatide has few side effects.
An effective treatment to combat obesity and overweight
After 36 weeks of treatment, 670 adults suffering from overweight or obesity were administered the maximum doses of this drug, i.e. 10 or 15 mg. The average weight loss was 20.9% of their initial weight.
At week 36, those who continued Tirzepatide experienced an additional mass loss of 5.5% of their body weight.
Compared to placebo, treatment was associated with significant improvements in BMI, hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood glucose, insulin, lipid levels, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure between week 36 and week 88.
Weight regain can be significant, as with semaglutide (Ozempic)
In the same study, it appears that when patients take the placebo version of the treatment, weight regain is significant. The researchers observed a 14% gain, on average, in the participants’ initial weight. These results point to the disappointing long-term effect of Trizepatide on maintaining the reduction in body weight in obese or overweight people, but also highlight the addiction to this treatment.
At least five trials (including the present study) of various drug classes, including powerful anti-obesity drugs like semaglutide, have demonstrated that there is significant weight regain after stopping drug therapy.
According to the researchers, “LThe consistency of these data between different therapeutic classes over more than 20 years suggests that obesity is a chronic metabolic disease similar to type 2 diabetes and hypertension that requires long-term treatment in most patients.”.
