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Dieters who stop using the latest slimming medications can avoid gaining weight again by starting an exercise regimen.
While weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have gained popularity in recent years, studies show that many users who stop expensive weekly injections regain most of the weight they’ve lost.
But research has found that those who start exercising regularly before stopping the medications regain only a small amount of weight compared to those who don’t.
The injections, first developed as a diabetes treatment known as GLP-1 drugs, reduce users’ appetite.
Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy have gained popularity in recent years (file image)
Research has found that those who start exercising regularly before stopping medication regain only a small amount of weight (file image)
Clinical trials show that patients taking semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) lose an average of 15 percent of their body weight.
The new study, conducted by scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, found that patients who stopped taking a GLP-1 drug called liraglutide regained, on average, nearly 20 pounds in a year.
However, those who participated in an exercise regimen with a fitness professional while taking the drug regained only about 8 pounds.
The researchers argue that this is because the patients got into the habit of exercising and continued to do so after stopping the injections.
The drugs, which have gained many famous fans and helped trigger shortages around the world, allow dieters to lose weight quickly but have a number of uncomfortable side effects such as nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.
They can also be expensive: private patients in the UK pay up to £300 a month.
Last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the drug “a game changer” and announced a pilot scheme that would allow GPs to offer injections to obese patients.
However, some users say they have experienced side effects so severe that they have been forced to quit the drugs.
In June 2023, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that he had been taking semaglutide and was losing between 4 and 5 pounds per week. However, he decided to stop treatment after experiencing vomiting attacks.