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🇦🇹 Austria /Health & Science

Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs: How to lose weight sustainably without the yo-yo effect

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Internist Friedrich Mittermayer says weight regain after stopping GLP-1 drugs reflects the return of appetite regulation and metabolic changes during weight loss.
  • He argues that the drugs are prescription medicines, not lifestyle products, and work best alongside lasting changes in eating and behavior.
  • The interview compares current weight-loss injections and pills and discusses treatments in development.

Stopping a weight-loss injection can remove the drug’s appetite-suppressing effect and allow the body’s original hunger regulation to return. Friedrich Mittermayer, a specialist in internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism, says that is one reason many patients regain substantial weight after treatment ends.

“GLP-1 preparations are not lifestyle products. They are prescription medicines with side effects and belong in medically supervised treatment,” Mittermayer says. In his view, the most lasting results come when medication and behavioral change work together.

Obesity is a chronic disease and not a question of willpower. We still encounter this stigmatization very frequently in practice, and the new medicines will hopefully help change this image in the public.

· Friedrich MittermayerThe specialist discusses the stigma surrounding obesity and the potential public impact of new medicines.

The drugs act through GLP-1 receptors, and depending on the product, GIP receptors as well. They affect satiety centers in the brain, slow gastric emptying and reduce appetite. Once the medication stops, that pharmacological braking effect disappears. The body may return to its previous patterns of appetite and hunger.

GLP-1 preparations are not lifestyle products. They are prescription medicines with side effects and belong in medically supervised treatment.

· Friedrich MittermayerMittermayer stresses that weight-loss drugs require medical supervision.

Weight loss also changes metabolism. As body mass falls, the basal metabolic rate declines and the body needs less energy. If appetite returns and a person eats even slightly more than before, weight gain can follow. Mittermayer describes this as a familiar physiological response that can occur with almost any form of weight loss.

Hormonal changes also play a role. Ghrelin, a stomach hormone that signals hunger to the brain, rises again. The interview focuses on the period after patients discontinue or reduce the dose of drugs such as liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide, as well as the differences between injections and pills expected to become available in Austria. Mittermayer also discusses future generations of weight-loss medicines already in development.

The most sustainable success always occurs when medication and accompanying behavioral change take place together.

· Friedrich MittermayerHe explains the treatment approach he considers most effective for long-term weight control.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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