New Study Reveals Consequences of Stopping Weight Loss Medication Mounjaro: Regained Health Benefits Also Reverse
A new study published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine has found that when people who have lost weight using the medication Mounjaro stop taking it, not only do they regain weight, but they also experience a reversal in other health benefits they had gained while on the drug.
Mounjaro, which contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, has been shown to help people lose an average of 20% of their body weight after just 72 weeks of treatment. However, research has previously found that when people stop using tirzepatide, they tend to regain much of the weight they had lost.
The new study analyzed data from a clinical trial known as Surmount-4, which involved participants with obesity or who were overweight and had at least one weight-related health problem. The researchers found that 82% of the participants who had lost at least 10% of their body weight by the end of the initial 36-week period regained 25% or more of their initial weight reduction within a year after stopping tirzepatide.
But the consequences of stopping Mounjaro don't stop there. The study also found that greater weight regain was associated with greater reversal of improvements in measures such as waist circumference, levels of "bad" cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.
According to experts, this makes sense given that excess weight is a well-established driver of elevated blood pressure and impaired glucose control. When people stop taking tirzepatide, their cardiometabolic risk factors tend to rise in proportion to the speed and extent of weight regain.
The study's findings highlight the importance of long-term maintenance of weight reduction through lifestyle intervention and obesity management medications to sustain cardiometabolic benefits and improved health-related quality of life. However, they also raise concerns about the potential consequences of stopping weight-loss medication without adequate support for maintaining healthy habits.
"This is not a surprise," said Naveed Sattar, a professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow. "Excess weight is a well-established driver of elevated blood pressure and impaired glucose control. When weight lost through therapeutic interventions is regained, these risk factors typically rise in proportion to the speed and extent of weight regain."
While the study's findings are concerning, they also highlight the need for more affordable strategies to support long-term weight loss maintenance.
A new study published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine has found that when people who have lost weight using the medication Mounjaro stop taking it, not only do they regain weight, but they also experience a reversal in other health benefits they had gained while on the drug.
Mounjaro, which contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, has been shown to help people lose an average of 20% of their body weight after just 72 weeks of treatment. However, research has previously found that when people stop using tirzepatide, they tend to regain much of the weight they had lost.
The new study analyzed data from a clinical trial known as Surmount-4, which involved participants with obesity or who were overweight and had at least one weight-related health problem. The researchers found that 82% of the participants who had lost at least 10% of their body weight by the end of the initial 36-week period regained 25% or more of their initial weight reduction within a year after stopping tirzepatide.
But the consequences of stopping Mounjaro don't stop there. The study also found that greater weight regain was associated with greater reversal of improvements in measures such as waist circumference, levels of "bad" cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.
According to experts, this makes sense given that excess weight is a well-established driver of elevated blood pressure and impaired glucose control. When people stop taking tirzepatide, their cardiometabolic risk factors tend to rise in proportion to the speed and extent of weight regain.
The study's findings highlight the importance of long-term maintenance of weight reduction through lifestyle intervention and obesity management medications to sustain cardiometabolic benefits and improved health-related quality of life. However, they also raise concerns about the potential consequences of stopping weight-loss medication without adequate support for maintaining healthy habits.
"This is not a surprise," said Naveed Sattar, a professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow. "Excess weight is a well-established driver of elevated blood pressure and impaired glucose control. When weight lost through therapeutic interventions is regained, these risk factors typically rise in proportion to the speed and extent of weight regain."
While the study's findings are concerning, they also highlight the need for more affordable strategies to support long-term weight loss maintenance.
Mounjaro is literally a game changer 4 me its helped me lose 30lbs and I feel like a new person!! but now im kinda worried about what happens when i stop takin it 
apparently the study says u gotta keep takin it or u'll just regaine all ur weight and even worse 
my blood pressure and cholesterol went down while on Mounjaro and now they're gonna go back up lol 
i think its kinda harsh but at least we know the importance of maintainin healthy habits and takin care of ourselves 