According to polling data, as many as 1 out of every 8 adults in the United States has taken Ozempic or a similar GLP-1 drug, either for weight loss or another purpose. According to the University of California, “Ozempic is a weekly injection that helps lower blood sugar by helping the pancreas make more insulin.” Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, per se, but it is commonly used for that purpose.
The results of a study published in January 2025 found that a vast majority of people who take Ozempic or other GLP-1 drugs stop taking them within 2 years. A common question for people who are either taking Ozempic or are considering doing so is, ‘what happens when people stop taking it?’
A trial in 2021 conducted by a team of international researchers found that when roughly a third of the trial’s 803 participants were switched from a GLP-1 drug to a placebo injection, those participants regained 7% of the weight they had previously lost.
Another trial from 2021 found similar results, with participants losing an average of 15% of their body weight while on a GLP-1 drug, only to regain much of it back within 12 months of moving off the drug.
“The main theory for why the majority of patients regain weight so rapidly when they stop taking medication is because the regions of the brain relating to appetite are still dysregulated, priming the person to overconsume. GLP-1 drugs only mask this dysregulation, and when their effect is removed, their food cravings soon return.” explains BBC.
As previously covered on this website, findings from one of the most comprehensive studies focusing on Ozempic and Ozempic-style drugs (GLP-1RAs) were recently released, which help provide some valuable insight into whether Ozempic and other similar products are safe. The study was conducted by a team of researchers affiliated with various health institutions in Missouri, and their findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
“Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic may decrease your risk of developing 42 health conditions, but increase your chance of experiencing 19 others, according to one of the most comprehensive studies-of-its-kind to date.” wrote LiveScience about the results of the recent study. The authors describe the study as providing the “clearest ever picture of the effectiveness and risks associated” with the drugs.
The study, which relied on data obtained from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, assessed the health impact of Ozempic-style drugs on 215,000 subjects diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for roughly four years. The results for the population of 215,000 subjects were compared to the results of a control group of over one million subjects who received different types of anti-diabetic drugs.
“Overall, the researchers found that GLP-1RAs have many beneficial effects, some of which were previously recognized. For instance, those who took GLP-1RAs had a 9%, 8% and 12% reduced risk of having a heart attack, deep vein thrombosis and Alzheimer’s, respectively, compared to controls. They were also less likely to develop substance-use disorders, including alcohol-use disorders and cannabis-use disorders (both an 11% lower risk), as well as having a 12% lower risk of experiencing bacterial infections.” LiveScience stated about the results of the comparison.
“However, these benefits did not come without risks, the researchers observed. For example, GLP-1RAs also increased people’s odds of developing gastrointestinal issues such as abdominal pain (12%), plus low blood pressure (6% higher risk) and arthritis (11% higher risk).” the authors stated about potential side effects.
“This study has several strengths. We used data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which integrates information from multiple data streams, including healthcare encounters (both inpatient and outpatient), diagnostic codes, laboratory test results, vital signs, medication use, sociodemographic data and data on the use of supportive and rehabilitative services. The US Department of Veterans Affairs offers comprehensive medical coverage, including prescription drug benefits, to all US veterans, so this approach reduced the likelihood that the choice of antihyperglycemic medication was influenced by the financial status of the patient. We conducted a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness and risks of GLP-1RA use in 175 health outcomes that could be plausibly impacted by GLP-1RA use in adults. We used an incident-user design and provide an atlas of head-to-head pairwise comparisons of GLP-1RAs versus three commonly used active comparators, a control composite of the three active comparators and a control representing usual care. We tested both positive and negative outcome controls to assess the presence of potential spurious biases.” the researchers who conducted the study stated about their investigation.
“Limitations of this study included using US veterans who are older, mostly white males, which may not represent the general population and could limit the generalizability of the results. This may be particularly true because the health effects of GLP-1RA use may vary across age, race, ethnicity and sex. However, due to the large size of our cohort, the study included 1,032,192 (5.28%) women; 30,846 (1.58%), 135,090 (6.91%) and 419,728 (21.47%) people aged less than 40, 50 and 60 years, respectively; and 357,228 (18.46%) and 201,123 (10.40%) individuals who identified as being of Black race or a race other than Black or white, respectively.” the researchers stated about their study’s limitations.
“Altogether, our discovery approach confirms previous studies and clinical trials and also uncovers previously unreported benefits and risks of GLP-1RAs. The results may be useful for informing clinical care, enhancing pharmacovigilance and guiding the development of mechanistic and clinical research to evaluate the broad pleiotropic effects of GLP-1RAs.” the researchers concluded.
Ultimately, and this is true of any medical treatment, you need to consult with your doctor to see if Ozempic or Ozempic-style drugs are the right move for your situation and needs. Your doctor will help you consider the benefits and potential issues of using Ozempic or Ozempic-style drugs.
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