Continued Treatment and Lifestyle Support May Help Maintain Weight Loss

Dr Mahendra Singh, Consultant Endocrinologist, Jodhpur

Ongoing anti-obesity treatment and repeated lifestyle intervention may help limit weight regain after initial weight loss.

Maintaining weight loss remains a challenge for many adults with overweight or obesity. While an initial reduction in body weight can be achieved through lifestyle changes, medication or other interventions, keeping that weight off over the longer term can be more difficult. Recent findings suggest that continued support after initial weight loss may help address this problem.

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism brought together evidence from 12 randomized controlled trials involving 4,915 participants. The studies assessed anti-obesity medicines during the weight-maintenance phase after participants had already lost weight. Compared with placebo, anti-obesity medicines were associated with further reductions in body weight, waist circumference and body mass index. Improvements were also reported in triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure. Quality-of-life measures included in the analysis also favored anti-obesity medicines. Gastrointestinal adverse events were more common with treatment, although serious adverse events were not significantly increased.

Long-term lifestyle support was examined in a separate study published in BMC Medicine. Researchers followed participants from two lifestyle intervention trials and assessed their outcomes several years later. The study included 480 participants and examined changes in body weight, metabolic measures and abdominal fat. Among participants who returned to a structured lifestyle program, the second intervention produced smaller reductions in weight and abdominal fat than their first intervention. However, this group regained less weight during the following five years than participants who took part in the later intervention for the first time.

The findings from the two studies point to different but complementary approaches to weight maintenance. Anti-obesity medicines may provide continued support after an initial weight reduction, while returning to a structured lifestyle program may help people manage weight over a longer period.

Overall, maintaining weight loss may require ongoing attention rather than ending treatment or support once an initial goal has been reached. Continued pharmacological treatment and repeated engagement with structured lifestyle programs may both have a role in helping adults manage weight over the longer term.

(Reference: Chen Z, Cheng R, Wang H, Hu F. Efficacy and Safety of Anti‐Obesity Medications for Weight Loss Maintenance in Adults With Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 2026 Jul 9, Klein H, Pachter D, Goldberg Toren DT, Kamer O, Alufer L, Ebstein Karamani N, Chassidim Y, Shelef I, Rudich A, Yoel U, Ben-Arie G. How effective is rejoining a long-term weight loss program? The 5-and 10-year MRI-assessed Follow Interventions Trial (FIT) project. BMC medicine. 2026 Jan 30;24(1):121.)