Research

Energy balance

Obesity pharmacotherapy primarily reduces metabolizable energy intake (DEI) through a universal exponential time course characterized by a large initial decrease followed by a slow relaxation to a smaller persistent effect.

If you are taking an obesity medication, expect your appetite suppression to be strongest in the first few months. As your weight stabilizes, the drug's effect on how much you eat will settle at a lower, sustainable level rather than disappearing. This waning effect is normal and part of the drug's designed mechanism, not a sign that the treatment has failed.

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Obesity pharmacotherapy led to an early decrease in metabolizable energy intake followed by a slow exponential relaxation to a much smaller persistent effect.
Britta Göbel et al. · Obesity · 2014

Why this rating

Based on a meta-analysis of 15 randomized, placebo-controlled trials using a validated mathematical model, though direct intake measurement was inferred rather than observed.

Source

Quantifying energy intake changes during obesity pharmacotherapy

Britta Göbel et al. · Obesity · 2014

DOI 10.1002/oby.20813

Meta-analysis · 15 studiesCited 16×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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