For months, a new generation of anti-obesity drugs has caught the attention of millions of patients and the pharmaceutical industry – and one question is: What will happen when these treatments stop?

According to a study published on Monday, a significant proportion of weight lost during treatment is regained after it is stopped, indicating that these new molecules may create a form of long-term addiction, AFP reported.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at tirzepatide, a compound from US lab Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, approved in November in the United States to treat obesity, a disease that affects about 40 people. % of adults in this country.

Along with Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic, Zepbound is part of a recent wave of drugs that are causing a stir in the pharmaceutical sector and fueling the hopes of millions of patients around the world with their highly attractive properties: treating type 2 diabetes, helping with weight loss and being able to treat obesity.

These drugs mimic a hormone secreted by the gut, GLP-1 (short for glucagon-like peptide 1), which reduces appetite, making you feel full.

Lost half the weight

In a study published Monday, about 670 patients initially received a dose of Zepbound as a weekly injection, which resulted in an average loss of 21 percent of their body weight after 36 weeks.

They were then divided into two groups: one continued to receive Zepbound and the other received a placebo.

After 88 weeks (over a year and a half), those on the placebo had regained almost half of the weight they had lost, although their weight was still 10% lower than at the start of treatment.

The Zepbound group continued to lose weight, with body weight 25% lower than baseline.

The group consisted of patients from Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, and the United States with a mean age of 48 years, approximately 70% female, and a mean baseline weight of 107 kg.

Everyone received advice on how to eat less and do sports.

The authors write that these results “underscore the need for continued treatment to prevent weight regain and ensure further weight loss,” which has significant cardiac benefits.