Patients stopping GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound within a year face rapid weight regain, intense hunger, and the loss of cardiovascular protection, according to a report from LiveNOW from FOX | Breaking News, Live Events.
While these drugs have reshaped diabetes control and weight management, research shows many users quit within 12 months. Dr. Frank Dumont, internal medicine physician and executive medical director at Virta Health in San Francisco, spoke with Fox News Digital about why patients discontinue the treatments and how to maintain progress afterward.
“Those types of things can become troublesome enough that people actually have a hard time eating enough food to get good nourishment,” Dumont told LiveNOW from FOX | Breaking News, Live Events regarding common side effects like nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea.
The most immediate effect after quitting is a sharp spike in appetite and intense cravings known as “food noise.” Major medical organizations classify obesity as a chronic condition requiring ongoing management, making short-term use problematic without permanent lifestyle changes.
“Unless you have significantly changed what you’re doing in terms of the types of foods you’re eating, it’s likely you’ll go back to the same foods you were eating before, and hunger and cravings will go up,” Dumont said.
Clinical trials demonstrate substantial weight return after stopping treatment. Participants in the STEP 1 trial extension regained about two-thirds of their lost weight within a year of stopping semaglutide. In the SURMOUNT-4 trial for tirzepatide, patients switched to a placebo after 36 weeks regained more than half their lost weight over the following year.
“That’s just so devastating for people who felt like they’d finally found a solution that would work,” Dumont said.
Stopping treatment can also reverse improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and fatty liver disease if patients return to previous eating habits. Weight loss on GLP-1 medications includes both fat and lean muscle mass.
In a body-composition study of tirzepatide, approximately 25% of the weight lost was lean mass, while the remaining 75% was fat. Dumont said that patients who regain weight often fail to fully replace lost muscle, creating a cycle of losing and regaining tissue.
“So, there’s a bit of a ratcheting-down effect if someone is on and off these medications, where they lose fat and muscle, stop the medicine, regain fat, go back on the medicine, and lose fat and muscle,” Dumont added.
Patients can successfully stop taking GLP-1 medications once they reach metabolic goals if they adopt sustainable eating habits, according to data from a Virta-affiliated observational study. Dumont recommends working directly with a prescribing clinician to monitor weight and blood sugar before discontinuing any prescription.
“The GLP-1 is not the only solution,” Dumont said. “It needs to be coupled with … a way of eating that’s going to work for you for the long term that allows you to stop the medicine successfully if you need to.”
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