Weight loss drugs: weight regain is inevitable
We shouldn’t be surprised by weight regain when people stop taking weight loss drugs if they’re not supported to make effective, long-term lifestyle changes.
A recent study presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) from the University of Oxford1 highlighted that when people stop taking weight loss drugs, if they don’t maintain a healthy lifestyle, they typically regain some of the weight they lost within a year, with full weight regain expected in under two years.
Results from studies that hail positive outcomes of weight loss drugs, such as those presented by Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro at ECO, dominated the media. However, the research from the University of Oxford, which analysed 11 previous studies regarding outcomes of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, raises important concerns about whether these drugs can have a positive impact on the obesity landscape, the government purse, and the NHS in the longer term if people taking them inevitably put the weight back on again.
It should not come as a surprise that people put weight back on once they stop taking the drugs. With all weight loss methods, if you go back to what you were consuming before, you will regain the weight you’ve lost, and in some cases, sadly more.
Based on the study’s findings, it seems the government is faced with limited options:
- provide access to weight loss drugs for eligible people for life, where the cost and health implications are unknown
- accept that the obesity landscape will remain critical and costly to the NHS due to obesity-related health conditions if those taking weight loss drugs regain their weight after two years
- or invest in evidence-based, cost-effective wraparound support that ensures, alongside the drugs, people make lasting changes to their diet, activity levels and mindset, and buck the trend in regaining weight after they stop taking the drugs
At Slimming World, we strongly believe the final option is the only viable way the government can truly make a real difference to the obesity landscape and make its investment in weight loss injections cost-effective in the long term. It's vitally important that wraparound care for any weight loss drugs both supports healthy lifestyle changes around food, drink and physical activity in the moment, and helps people create long-lasting habits that they can maintain well after they stop taking medication.
While we know that a healthy weight can be achieved and maintained for life without taking any medication, our wraparound support is open to all adults, including those who have chosen to take weight loss drugs. We have a growing number of people online and in our groups who have come to us after starting to use the drugs, as they understand the importance of making healthy changes alongside them.
At Slimming World, everything we do is geared towards helping our members make long-lasting changes. We differ from weight loss drugs and other weight loss methods in many ways. Our philosophy is based on a deep understanding of how people with a weight problem feel. We believe in the importance of a multi-component approach to weight loss, which is why we offer our members a healthy eating plan, an active lifestyle programme and behaviour change support. We support our members, both in our groups and via our online service, with sophisticated techniques rooted in psychology to help them understand themselves, their triggers and their own personal barriers, and we equip them with tools and strategies to develop lasting, self-determined healthy habits, achieve their weight loss goals and maintain them.
Slimming World has been a long-time provider to the NHS through its referral programme, which provides people living with overweight or obesity with access to a 12-week weight loss plan via Slimming World, and the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme. An independent economic evaluation by the University of Leeds also found that Slimming World on Referral is cost-effective against the standards set by NICE at 12 months and over a lifetime.
Weight loss drugs have, of course, changed the weight management landscape, but they are a costly method of postponing an ongoing issue, with the knowledge that, without the right support for lasting change, they’re only a temporary solution and not the silver bullet many people have viewed them as.
If the government continues to invest huge sums of money into weight loss drugs, they need to ensure they go hand-in-hand with effective wraparound that which supports people to change both their habits around diet and activity, and their mindset so they can be confident they’re spending taxpayers’ money in a way that will provide a return on investment.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet the government to discuss our commitment to supporting its efforts to help people whose lives are adversely impacted by obesity, and introduce them to our members who have lost weight and created lasting healthy habits. For more information, please visit slimmingworld.co.uk.
- West, S. et al. (2025). Weight regain following the cessation of GLP-1 RAs for weight management: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Facts 18(S1):368. Presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2025 (ECO2025).
