Drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy have emerged rapidly in recent years with claims to help with weight loss and help with other health problems. But according to a recent study, these benefits disappear within two years after patients stop treatment.
Across 37 studies, 9,341 obese or overweight patients who received any of 18 different weight-loss drugs gained an average of about 1 pound after stopping the medication, according to a study published in the BMJ.
They were expected to return to their pre-treatment weight in about two years, the same study said.
But weight isn’t the only factor that comes back after stopping treatment. According to the same study, health risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels are expected to return to their original levels within 1.4 years after taking the drug.
GLP-1 drugs also tested
About half of the study patients were given newer GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) and tezeparatide (sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound). Studies show that these drugs restore weight faster, with an average gain of 1.8 pounds per month.
“However, because people taking semaglutide or tezepatide lost more weight initially, they eventually returned to baseline levels around the same time,” Dimitrios Koutoukidis, a senior researcher on the study at the University of Oxford, told Reuters.
A box of Ozempic and contents.
Weight-loss drugs have had some success
In recent years, weight loss drugs tested in studies have had great success in the United States. Back in October 2025, a survey by Gallup’s National Health and Well-Being Index showed that there were an estimated 7.6 million fewer obese people in the United States compared with 2022.
In 2022, the adult obesity rate in the United States hit a record high of 39.9%, and in 2025, this proportion gradually dropped to 37%. While obesity rates are declining, use of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy will double between 2025 and 2024, according to the same study.
Contributors: Nicole Fallert, USA Today; Reuters
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a popular news reporter for USA Today. Contact him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared in USA Today: Here’s how fast you gain weight after ending GLP-1, according to study
