Researchers Explore Ways to Reduce Weight Regain After Stopping GLP-1 Drugs

GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic and Wegovy have been widely praised for helping people lose weight, but studies show that many patients quickly regain pounds after they stop taking them. New research suggests there may be a way to lessen that rebound.

A review of nearly 40 studies found that people who discontinued GLP-1s typically regained about a pound a month and, within roughly two years, often returned to the weight they had lost on the medication. Cost, insurance problems, side effects and other factors can all lead people to stop treatment.

To address that problem, researchers at Tufts University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center examined whether structured support — including wellness apps and customized meals — could slow weight regain. Their results were encouraging.

“Many people receive limited lifestyle and behavior-change support while taking GLP-1 medications because the medication itself is so effective at suppressing appetite and reducing food intake,” Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, a study author and research assistant professor at Tufts University, told Newsweek.

“If the medication is stopped and hunger and appetite cues return, people may not have developed the strategies needed to manage those changes. These structured interventions help fill that gap,” she added.

The study was published in Obesity Science and Practice.

What the Study Found

The trial included 39 adults. Some received the standard care given after GLP-1 treatment ends, while others used a digital wellness app or received medically tailored meals. Researchers followed the participants for four months.

The app allowed participants to track diet, exercise and weight, while also offering education about the physiological, psychological, social and environmental factors that affect eating behavior. It also provided tools to help manage those influences. Participants were asked to use it for at least 15 minutes each day.

The medically tailored meals were nutrient-dense dishes created by dietitians for people with diet-related illnesses, including uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Participants selected 10 preferred meals each week from a menu of 70 options, and the meals were delivered to their homes.

Researchers found that the control group, which did not receive structured support after stopping the medication, gained about 10.75 percent of body weight during the study period. Those using the wellness app gained 3.6 percent, while those receiving tailored meals gained 3.58 percent.

Hollis-Hansen said she expected the greatest need for support in the first year after stopping GLP-1 treatment, when the risk of regaining weight is highest, though more research is needed to determine how long support should continue.

Ideally, she said, that first year could be used to build lasting habits around eating, physical activity, sleep and self-monitoring. As those behaviors become routine, support could probably be reduced over time, though some people may still need ongoing maintenance help.

Why Do People Regain Weight After Taking GLP-1s?

Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek that it is “very difficult if not nearly impossible” to prevent weight regain after GLP-1 therapy.

She said that when patients lose substantial amounts of weight, such as 15 to 22 percent, the results are usually maintained only if the therapy continues, because the GLP-1 lowers the body weight “set point” in the brain.

Apovian explained that the hypothalamus — the brain’s “energy balance control center” — is programmed to keep fat stores at a certain level for survival. That set point can change, she said, but GLP-1 treatment helps push the body toward greater satiety and a lower fat mass as long as the medication is being used.

When someone stops the drug, the body may respond by increasing hunger, reducing fullness and triggering other biological adaptations that evolved to protect against food scarcity, Hollis-Hansen said.

She added that people are also living in environments where highly processed, calorie-dense foods are easy to find, inexpensive and heavily marketed. Many also face obstacles to healthy food access and physical activity, including limited time, money or safe places to exercise.

What Can You Do To Prevent Weight Regain After Stopping GLP-1s?

Apovian said the study suggests structured support can help by reinforcing healthy eating habits and exercise, which may blunt some of the hormonal signals that drive weight gain.

Still, she said it may only be a temporary answer because there is no hormonal treatment that restores a lower body-weight set point. She added that resistance training to build muscle may help balance hormones and increase energy expenditure.

In her view, behavioral support and structured eating patterns such as prepared healthy meals, along with exercise, should be continued over the long term.

The next step, she said, is more long-term research on combinations of GLP-1s and lifestyle changes to see how much weight maintenance is possible while also confronting the broader environment of ultra-processed foods, endocrine disruptors and other possible contributors to obesity, including temperature, global warming and pollution.

Reference

Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen et al (2026) Preventing Weight Regain After Glucagon‐Like Peptide‑1 Therapy Discontinuation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Obesity Science & Practice https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/osp4.70194