Is it the begining of the end for Weight loss injections?

[BeginingoftheendforWLI]

Just watched a report on BBC news, they did an item on a woman who had type 2 diabetes and was prescribed Mounjaro, doctors were impressed she managed to come off insulin within a month. She had some weightloss and now goes to the gym regularly.

Her doctor admitted that there was widespread concern in the medical field that people who were buying it privately for cosmetic reasons not for medical reasons could face some consequences in the future such as muscle growth and bone degeneration and lack of nutrition - they simply don't have this data at present.

Feel like this is going to be big news in the foreseeable future.

And let's face it, no one will be out of a job, imagine all those people who won't need emergency surgeries so the people waiting years for life changing operations could be seen sooner, the list of people will never end but people like my son at age 14 potentially would not have had to wait for orthopedic surgery for 2 years, whilst basically missing out on those important teen years not being able to play any sport or join in with his mates playing in the park etc. I know its not quite as basic as that but it could change things for the better quite significantly.

Yes, now my BMI is 21/22 I no longer need my regular cholesterol blood tests, thus freeing up those appointments at my GP surgery for others to use. Also creates more lab time etc.

Both of DH's golf buddies who are on WLI are no longer on their BP and cholesterol medications, again freeing up their associated GP appointments for others.

My friend has fibromyalgia and is thrilled that losing 4st on WLI has seen a significant reduction in her symptoms. She has fewer GP appointments and is now able to return to her part time job which she loved.

Okay, so a relatively tiny snap shot of the wonders of WLI, but still significant steps in the right direction.

my perioral dermatitis I've had flaring up at regular intervals since I was a teenager has disappeared since I started mounjaro. This frees up some dermatologist appointments.

In today’s Guardian and currently being discussed on Sky News. Landmark study of nearly 10k users finds weight regain is four times faster after stopping jabs than on trad diets, so conclusion is they will have to be taken for life.

Fine if you can afford it but question remains over cost - will Big Pharma be on board with making them affordable for everyone even when the patents run out and they can be produced cheaper? Because the knock on effect will be people needing less meds for blood pressure and other conditions, so Big Pharma will be thinking about its profit margins first and foremost and I wouldn’t be surprised if they collude to keep prices fairly high.

www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/07/weight-loss-jabs-regain-two-years-health-study

I think if you want to stop taking them you’d have to be committed to a lifestyle change, eg move to whole-foods, lifting weights and also more cardio, enough protein etc. I think if taking to eat less of a not very healthy diet, then as soon as you stop hunger will be back and weight will go back on.

Oh fgs. Why don’t people actually READ the research themselves instead of taking every bit of whatever FB/newspaper/my friend down the fishmarket has to say as gospel and forming a highly uneducated opinion!?
I’ve read the papers for myself. I’ve also lost 9 stone on MJ and my health is dramatically better for it! I swear some people would be happier I was still 23 stone and at risk of all sorts of diseases and definitely an early death instead of ‘cheating’ and actually being fit and health (and yes - I run regularly, my diet is excellent and I don’t live on 1000kcals a day!!).
it isn’t insulin (worrying comment, that one…!) it isn’t a new drug (it’s been around for bloody years!) and actually percentage wise the amount of people who have bad experiences with them is far, far less than those who take paracetamol or ibuprofen! The risk comes with the individual - those idiots who will lie to get them prescribed.

My GP said to me the other day that she has seen in a few patients the good that they have done and she really wished she could prescribe it to more.

Have you actually read that Guardian article? The research was carried out by by academics at the University of Oxford and has been published in the BMJ. But I'm guessing you know better than them?

Having read both The Guardian and the BBC article about that "new" study. Let's be clear, it's not a new, recent trial. It's a study collating weight regain data from 37 previous trials of WLI of which only 8 are the most recent ie mounjaro and wegovy.

From the BBC article:

The researchers looked at 37 studies with over 9,000 patients to compare the blockbuster weight-loss jabs with conventional dieting or other pills.
Only eight of the studies assessed treatment with the newer GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, and the maximum follow-up period in these studies was a year after medication stopped, so the figures are an estimate.

There's also no mention of whether any of the trials studied involved tapering down.

There's also no mention of whether any of the trials studied involved tapering down

Id like to know this too - whether they just went cold turkey or slowly reduced dose. I think there will be a difference in real life use compared to participants in a clinical study. Especially where people have paid a lot of their own money and are thus financially as well as psychologically invested in their weight loss, there will be a longer period of low dose maintenance.

@Passingthrough123 the study is based on extrapolations from evidence of other studies! It is not the presentation of dogmatic facts but more of a discussion paper.

Researchers behind the paper, published in the BMJ late on Wednesday, analysed data from more than 9,000 people from 37 studies that examined the effects of ceasing the drugs. On average, the participants took the medicines for 39 weeks and provided follow-up data for 32. The scientists extrapolated from the studies to forecast what would have happened after a further lapse of time.

The scientists acknowledged limitations in their work including that almost a third of the trials they surveyed had a high risk of bias. The populations in the drug and behavioural treatment programmes might have differed in potentially important ways, such as the degree of obesity and incidence of comorbidities, they added.

Maybe I'm being cynical, but there is no commercial advantage to the manufactures in producing a product that you use for a finite period and never again. Take WLI lose weight, stop or reduce WLI gain weight so start again, exactly the same model as slimfast, weight watchers etc, it's not in their interest for it to be totally successful, maybe a few headline cases for publicity purposes, but in general they want the repeat business.

@Somersetbaker but how would it even be possible to create a medication that continues to work when you stop taking it? Unless it's something like gene therapy that makes a permanent change to your DNA.

The aim was to produce a medication that generates significant weight loss (more than 5% of starting weight) without harmful side effects. That's what has been achieved.

True cynicism involves acknowledging that Big Pharma also does very well out of obese people staying obese. Anyone who meets the prescription criteria to start WLI is likely to be fertile territory for the likes of Eli Lilly over their lifetime.

Some medications are time limited to treat a specific illness (eg antibiotics for an infection). Some are for long term use at the discretion of the patient and doctor (eg contraception), some are for lifelong use for a permanent medical condition (eg insulin).

i think the general public are viewing them as time limited drugs like antibiotics, whereas many of us who are talking WLIs view them as a lifelong medication for a permanent medical condition, ie obesity. I view my obesity as caused by the imbalance of GLP1 in my brain, and mounjaro is fixing that and so I will need to keep taking it to stop putting weight back on. In the same way that people with high cholesterol find their levels rise if they stop taking their statins.

Considering half my healthcare colleagues are on it, I’m not sure there’s much concern.

What happens if you're on it long-term paying privately, then at some point you lose your job/retire/ your circumstances change, and you can no longer afford it? Does the NHS step in at that stage to cover the costs? I have a feeling that they will need to, as a case will be made for the 'cost implications of treating future obesity'.

I can’t imagine for a second they would. You’d either maintain eating within your calorie allowance and exercising, or you’d get fat again.

No, the NHS does not and will not "step in" and cover the costs. Don't worry about that ever being the case, it really won't be. That's not how the NHS works.

People will prioritise what is important to them. If you lose your job, retire or your circumstances change, what would you do to prioritise paying for things that are very important to you? Get another job, plan adequately for retirement, or temporary changes to your personal life etc etc.

Some people who have already had to stretch beyond their means to afford a private prescription may have to change their medication to a cheaper one, or possibly stop. That would be difficult for them of course, but as it's private medicine that is always a risk, and most people would consider that before starting a lengthy programme of treatment.

If a person loses a lot of weight using whatever method, won't their metabolic weight change, so they need a lot fewer calories.

Unless and until we get to the point that GLP1s are prescribed freely like HRT or statins then no, why would the NHS pay? I think we will get to this point but not for another 15-20 years.

Because a case might be made that if people who have slimmed down using these drugs regain the weight, then they will re-enter higher risk diabetes/heart disease/impaired mobility territory, even be at a higher risk of cancer, so the govt/NHS decides continuing to provide them with maintenance doses of GLP1s is the lesser of two evils/more cost-effective in the long run.

Same, my guess is it's still a way away yet.

I mean, maybe in like 30 to 50 years from now that might happen, perhaps. But the NHS is planning to take 12 years to roll out initial prescribing of Mounjaro to obese people, in several stages. That's all they've planned for so far. There isn't going to be a sudden policy switch to start prescribing it for maintenance to people who are at healthy weight but can't afford a private prescription any more. Of all the things to have a concern about, this is not something that is likely to be happening.

God another thread about WLI - honestly can people just let others do what they like and stop talking about it - Just tedious now and always fuelled by jealousy.