New study reveals lifelong use of weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy may be necessary

First came the sighs and awe as people who had tried everything began to shed weight like water. Then came the whispers of agonizing side-effects and changes in the brain.

Now, even as the world moves towards accepting a pill version of effective pound-shedding medication like Mounjaro and Wegovy, a new study has surfaced that says patients might need to continue consumption for life to keep their obesity under control, reports SkyNews.

While no statistics of weight-loss drug use are available in the UAE (shortages have been reported, however), in the UK, SkyNews reports that almost 2 million British adults used the injectables.

It also says that on average about half the patients on it stop using it within a year – this could be because of the cost or the side-effects such as nausea and migranes.

In Dubai, Mounjaro can cost you anywhere between Dh1,734 to over Dh4,000 per month. This is often not covered by health insurance.

The new study, published in British Medical Journal, reveals that on average it takes a person just about a year-and-half to put on all the weight they’ve lost on the meds.

Professor Susan Jebb, an expert on diet and population health at the University of Oxford, was quoted by Sky News as saying: "Most people who are living with obesity, who have all that genetic and metabolic predisposition to gain weight, are going to need lifelong support of some kind," she said.

"Whether that's lifelong medication or whether it's medication at intervals combined with some other treatments, we just don't yet know.

"The big unanswered question is how do you help people keep the weight off. And that is a different process than is necessary for losing weight."

Sam West, another Oxford researcher, said: "They're not a silver bullet, they don't fix it long-term. While you take them, they are incredibly effective. But when you stop taking them, the weight regain occurs rapidly."