{"id":26069,"date":"2026-03-17T12:15:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/?p=26069"},"modified":"2026-03-20T14:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:06:09","slug":"on-the-rebound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/archives\/26069","title":{"rendered":"On the rebound\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
Dr\u202fNkateko\u202fMsimeki\u202fand the Medscheme Health Policy Unit\u2019s latest newsletter takes a deeper look into the dreaded weight rebound effect after stopping weight-loss medications. <\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Media coverage <\/span>intensified\u00a0<\/span>recently\u00a0<\/span>after a publication in the British Medical Journal<\/span>\u00a0(BMJ), highlighting\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>weight-regain phenomenon<\/span>\u201d when people stop\u00a0<\/span>weight-loss therapies\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>especially\u00a0<\/span>modern medications such as\u00a0<\/span>GLP-1 R<\/span>A<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 fuelling\u00a0<\/span>debate about the long-term durability of their benefits.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Medication in weight management <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Modern weight-loss medicines differ markedly from traditional (\u201colder\u201d) agents in their effectiveness, tolerability, and the degree of weight regain observed after discontinuation. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

GLP-1 RAs (semaglutide, liraglutide) and the newer dual GIP\/GLP-1 agonist (tirzepatide) act directly on hormonal pathways regulating appetite, satiety, gastric emptying, and metabolism. These targeted mechanisms enable greater and more sustained weight-loss compared to traditional agents. Although they have notable adverse effects (mainly gastrointestinal with rare but emerging serious risks), they are supported by a stronger evidence base overall. As a result, they are viewed favourably in clinical practice for their acceptable benefit-risk profile and are deemed appropriate for long-term use in carefully selected individuals.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The dreaded \u201cregain\u201d effect <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A recent publication in the BMJ (West et al., 2026) reported that weight typically increases after discontinuing weight-loss medicines (by about 0.4 kg per month) after traditional weight-loss agents and roughly twice that amount (0.8 kg per month) after the newer GLP-1-based therapies. The literature suggests that individuals may regain up to 60% of the lost weight within 12 months of stopping a GLP-1 RA. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

While these findings understandably raise concerns about long-term weight management and the durability of treatment effects, they should be interpreted in context rather than viewed as therapeutic failure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing condition with a distinct biology. As body weight increases, the body strengthens its natural \u201cweight-defence\u201d mechanisms designed to preserve fat stores. When weight-loss medication is discontinued, its effects on appetite, satiety, gastric emptying, and metabolism diminish, allowing these biological processes to re-assert themselves and promote weight regain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The type of medication used also influences the extent of the regain\u00a0effect.\u00a0More traditional\u00a0medicines tend to be short-term, act less directly, and produce only modest weight-loss\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and with less weight lost, there is correspondingly less to regain once\u00a0the\u00a0treatment stops. In contrast, GLP-1-based therapies act more directly on appetite-regulating and metabolic pathways,\u00a0and are\u00a0generally used\u00a0for longer durations. Because they produce more targeted effects and greater total weight-loss, their withdrawal is felt more sharply. Put simply: the more weight lost during treatment, the more weight there is that may be regained once the medication is\u00a0discontinued.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Lasting progress <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

While medication can be an important supportive tool in weight management, it cannot replace sustained lifestyle and behavioural changes.\u00a0Meaningful, lasting progress relies on a deliberate, stepwise approach supported by regular follow-up, ongoing monitoring, and personalised planning\u00a0\u2013\u00a0including dose adjustments, transition pathways, or alternative supports. With thoughtful, proactive management, it is possible to minimise regain and promote greater weight stability after treatment ends.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to read\u00a0the\u00a0full newsletter, which delves into weight loss classification, modern\u00a0vs\u00a0traditional weight loss medicines,\u00a0and the regain effect in more detail.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr\u202fNkateko\u202fMsimeki\u202fand the Medscheme Health Policy Unit\u2019s latest newsletter takes a deeper look into the dreaded weight rebound effect after stopping weight-loss medications. Media coverage intensified\u00a0recently\u00a0after a publication in the British Medical Journal\u00a0(BMJ), highlighting\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cweight-regain phenomenon\u201d when people stop\u00a0weight-loss therapies\u00a0\u2013especially\u00a0modern medications such as\u00a0GLP-1 RAs\u00a0\u2013 fuelling\u00a0debate about the long-term durability of their benefits.\u00a0 Medication in weight management Modern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[383],"tags":[373],"class_list":["post-26069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-wellness-afrocentric17","tag-afrocentric17"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26069"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26443,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26069\/revisions\/26443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}