Half of people on weight loss drugs quit within one year, expert says it’s ‘concerning’

Published on 14/09/2025 - 7:30 GMT+2

Millions of group usage weight nonaccomplishment narcotics – but half of patients extremity taking them wrong 1 year, according to a caller analysis.

Popular anti-obesity and glucosuria medicines specified arsenic Ozempic and Wegovy are portion of a people of narcotics known arsenic glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which thief group suffer weight by mimicking a hormone that reduces their appetite.

If group extremity taking nan drugs, though, they often regain nan weight, prompting nationalist statement complete whether they whitethorn request to beryllium taken for life.

For nan caller study, Danish researchers analysed information from much than 77,000 group who took anti-obesity narcotics and did not person diabetes.

They recovered that 52 per cent of these group stopped taking nan narcotics wrong 12 months. Among them, 18 per cent stopped wrong 3 months, 31 per cent stopped wrong six months, and 42 per cent discontinue aft 9 months.

“This level of dropoff is concerning because these medications aren’t meant to beryllium a impermanent speedy fix,” said Reimar W. Thomsen, 1 of nan study’s authors and a professor of metabolic illness epidemiology astatine Aarhus University successful Denmark.

“For them to activity effectively, they request to beryllium taken agelong term,” Thomsen added successful a statement. “All of nan beneficial effects connected appetite power are mislaid if nan medicine is stopped”.

People were much apt to discontinue nan narcotics if they were poorer, younger, male, had chronic wellness issues, aliases had antecedently utilized gastrointestinal aliases psychiatric medications, which whitethorn bespeak that they knowledgeable unpleasant broadside effects specified arsenic nausea aliases vomiting, nan researchers said.

Adults nether nan property of 30 were 48 per cent much apt to extremity curen wrong nan first twelvemonth compared pinch those aged 45 to 59, nan study found. People surviving successful low-income areas were 14 per cent much apt to discontinue than those successful much able areas.

That suggests nan drugs’ value constituent could beryllium making it harder for group to proceed accessing them, nan researchers said.

In Denmark, a month’s proviso of Ozempic – which isn’t typically covered by nan authorities unless a diligent has type 2 glucosuria – costs up to €313, compared pinch astir €120 successful neighbouring Germany.

The findings, which person not yet been published successful a aesculapian journal, will beryllium presented astatine nan yearly gathering of nan European Association for nan Study of Diabetes successful Vienna this week.

Thomsen said nan results propose much should beryllium done to support patients who could use from these medications, fixed they person been shown to little nan consequence of wellness issues arsenic wide-ranging arsenic heart disease, addiction, and cancer.

“With complete half of adults successful Europe surviving pinch overweight aliases obesity, knowing who whitethorn use astir from interventions that promote adherence is basal to improving curen usage and consequent wellness outcomes and value of life,” Thomsen said.