Hormonal
Discontinuation of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy leads to substantial weight regain, indicating that obesity requires long-term, possibly lifelong, pharmacological management.
If you stop taking GLP-1 medications like semaglutide, you will likely regain most of the weight you lost. This is because obesity is a chronic condition, and the medication helps manage the underlying hormonal drivers. To keep the weight off, you likely need to stay on the medication long-term, similar to how blood pressure medication is used for hypertension.
STEP-4 trial... showing that continued semaglutide therapy prevented weight regain, while participants switched to placebo regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss within 48 weeks.
Why this rating
Based on the STEP-4 trial, a large RCT specifically designed to test weight maintenance.
Source
GLP-1 ANALOGUES IN OBESITY THERAPY: CURRENT EVIDENCE AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Natalia Strumnik et al. · International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science · 2025
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