What Happens to Your Weight After Stopping Weight Loss Injections?
A study published in 2026 looked at what happened to people's weight in the year after they stopped taking newer injectable weight loss medicines. On average, weight change in that first year was relatively small, but individual experiences varied widely.
The Study Followed Nearly 8,000 Adults Who Had Stopped Their Injectable Medicine
Researchers used electronic health records from a large health system in Ohio and Florida, in the United States, covering the period from 2021 to 2025. The study included 7,938 adults who had started an injectable weight loss medicine for obesity or type 2 diabetes and then stopped within 3 to 12 months of starting.
Weight Change After Stopping Varied Considerably From Person to Person
People who had been taking the medicine specifically to treat obesity lost around 8.4 percent of their body weight on average before they stopped. In the year after stopping, average weight change was relatively small, but the study found considerable variation at the individual level, meaning some people's results looked very different from the average. A notable proportion of people restarted the same medicine within a year, and many received some form of alternative obesity treatment.
The Findings Come From One Country and One Health System, Which Limits How Broadly They Apply
Because the study looked back at existing records rather than following a planned trial, the full reasons behind individual weight changes after stopping are not explained. Results in other countries or health settings may differ. What happens to a person's weight after stopping these medicines remains something that varies considerably from one individual to the next.
About this research: Obesity Treatments and Weight Changes in Clinical Practice After Discontinuation of Semaglutide or Tirzepatide, published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (2026). Read the study summary
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