A small new study suggests some patients taking GLP-1 medications may be able to maintain their weight loss even when they take the drugs less frequently. First reported by Gizmodo, the research comes from physicians at Scripps Health who examined patients who shifted to a reduced dosing schedule after reaching a weight-loss plateau. The findings, published in the journal Obesity,explore a question many patients ask once they reach their goal weight: Do weekly injections need to continue indefinitely?
Testing a Lower-Frequency Approach
Researchers followed 30 patients who had already achieved significant weight loss on GLP-1 medications. Twenty-one were taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro or Zepbound) and nine were using semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy). Instead of continuing weekly injections, most patients spaced out their doses to roughly every two weeks, while a few extended the interval even further. The average follow-up period was about 36 weeks.
Weight and BMI Stayed Stable
During standard weekly dosing, patients lost about 17 percent of their body weight on average. After switching to reduced-frequency dosing, most maintained their results and the group saw a small additional drop of about 2.3 percent. Only five participants experienced modest weight regain, with the largest increase around eight pounds. Overall BMI remained largely stable across the group.
Researchers also found that improvements in metabolic health remained steady. Blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure levels stayed largely consistent during the maintenance phase. That’s notable because prior research has shown that stopping GLP-1 medications altogether often leads to weight regain. Instead of discontinuing therapy, this study explored spacing injections further apart once weight loss plateaued.
What the Findings Mean
“Larger randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and may help address concerns about indefinite therapy, lower health care costs, ease supply constraints and broaden access to GLP-1 medications to improve public health,” the study authors wrote. They also emphasized that the research is observational and small.
Four patients who initially tapered their injections returned to their original schedule after noticing weight regain. Still, the findings hint at a possible middle ground between weekly injections and discontinuing treatment altogether, especially for patients concerned about long-term costs and side effects.
