Latest news with #HanWu
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Study: Lost weight rebounds quickly after stopping weight-loss jabs
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Doctors around the world have been hailing "miracle" medications that make weight loss far easier, but new research suggests that after a person stops taking certain drugs, the weight tends to increase again rather quickly. People who received the medication lost significant weight during the therapy, and this even continued to a small extent for a few weeks after stopping the medication, according to a research team led by Han Wu and Wenjia Yang from Peking University People's Hospital. However, from the eighth week after the end of therapy, researchers said there was a marked weight gain that persisted for many weeks. The extent of weight gain varies depending on the medication and lifestyle changes, according to the study, but there is a clear trend towards weight gain after stopping the medication. This confirms existing findings, according to Stephan Martin, chief physician for diabetology and director of the West German Diabetes and Health Centre at the Association of Catholic Clinics in Düsseldorf, Germany. He said that some manufacturers of the medications had also demonstrated this themselves through randomized studies. Test subjects were given the active substances for 10 weeks, after which some were switched to a placebo. This group "then continuously regained weight," Martin reported. In the current study, the researchers from Beijing also referred to an investigation in which people who had completed a 36-week treatment with the active substance tirzepatide (GLP-1-RA) regained about half of the weight they had previously lost within a year of switching to a placebo. The newly published meta-analysis summarised the results of 11 independent studies from around the world, including those on the drug orlistat, the combinations naltrexone/bupropion and phentermine/topiramate, as well as the group of GLP-1 receptor agonists. The data came from a total of 1,574 people in treatment groups and 893 in control groups. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1-RA) are included in popular medications such as Wegovy and Ozempic. In some countries, they are approved for type 2 diabetes and some cases of obesity, and they are known as lifestyle drugs for achieving a slim figure. These active substances, which are injected regularly, primarily prolong the time food stays in the digestive tract, thereby increasing the feeling of satiety. Side effects include gastrointestinal complaints. One aspect of the study stands out: Those who initially experienced significant weight loss during therapy tended to regain more weight afterwards, even if they participated in programmes to change their lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits. "This does not surprise me," says Anja Hilbert, professor of behavioural medicine at Germany's Leipzig University Hospital. Similar experiences are seen, for example, in people who follow a very low-calorie diet — they also tend to regain more weight after the diet ends than those who undergo moderate calorie limits. However, the expert noted that there were only a few participants for this aspect of the study. "The results of the study actually suggest that long-term, perhaps even lifelong use of the medication may be necessary to stabilise weight," Hilbert says. "It is a long-term therapy," diabetologist Martin emphasizes. Anyone who believes they can lose weight with this therapy and then everything will be fine is mistaken. "You need this therapy permanently." Some in the US health care system have raised concerns that many people may not be aware of this or may accept it. According to studies, two-thirds of people treated for obesity, most of whom pay for the treatment themselves, stopped using the medication within a year. "We don't know why: Maybe it becomes too expensive, maybe they have lost enough weight and believe it will now stay off," says Martin, who advocates for more overweight prevention rather than treating the consequences.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Weight regain begins 8 weeks after stopping anti-obesity drugs, says study
A review of data from clinical trials of weight-loss drugs has concluded that weight regain begins about eight weeks after stopping these medications, and continues up to 20 weeks, before stabilising at about 26 weeks. The paper 'Trajectory of the body weight after drug discontinuation in the treatment of anti-obesity medications' published in BMC Medicine, an open access, transparent peer-reviewed general medical journal, also observed that at 52 weeks, the subjects of the trial still weighed less than they did before starting medication, but the weight loss was reduced compared to when they were actively taking the drugs. 11 clinical trials The researchers Han Wu et al, from the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Peking University People's Hospital, China, analysed data from 11 clinical trials with 1,573 people taking anti-obesity medication. These medications included: GLP-1 receptor agonists (such as semaglutide, liraglutide), orlistat, naltrexone-bupropion, and phentermine-topiramate. Randomised controlled trials of anti-obesity medications conducted in the population for at least four weeks and followed up for four or more weeks after discontinuation were included. The review sought to examine the post-trial period when the drugs stop, estimate what happens to the weight of these patients, how much weight is regained, how soon do they begin to regain weight and the impact of lifestyle factors on weight. The researchers observed that people who lost more weight during treatment were more likely to regain weight, even if they continued lifestyle interventions (including diet and exercise). Those who started with a lower body mass index (BMI), meaning they were less overweight, showed more weight regain after stopping than those with higher BMI. Interestingly, people taking GLP-1-related drugs experienced more weight regain after stopping than those on other drugs, they reported in the paper. Different weight regain was observed in subjects with different characteristics, the researchers said, adding that studies with a longer follow-up duration are required to further investigate the potential factors associated with weight change after discontinuation of treatment. Hope to many 'This is an interesting study with robust meta analyses, but similar results have been shown in many other trials too,' says Dr. Nanditha, consultant diabetologist, Dr. A. Ramachandran's Diabetes Hospitals, Chennai. 'Any intervention, either when you step down or discontinue, will result in weight gain, even if it is lifestyle modifications.' However, it is important to see the usefulness of these drugs in the context of the obesity epidemic. Obesity, originally, was looked upon as a risk factor, but is now considered a disease by itself. 'Earlier, we did not have many tools to treat it, now these drugs are providing hope to people who can lose weight without surgery. What is clear is that the regain will not take you back to the baseline weight, so while expensive, these drugs should be considered an investment, because the benefits go beyond weight loss,' she said. It may be remembered that another study, published recently in the journal Obesity, showed that semaglutide and tirzepatide — injectable GLP-1 drugs for obesity — produce lower weight loss in a real-world setting, as compared to during the clinical trial, because patients discontinue treatment or use lower maintenance dosages.
