Most Patients Keep Weight Off With Fewer GLP-1 Shots, Study Finds

A small chart-review study of 34 patients reported that after 36 weeks most who spaced out their standard GLP-1 injections maintained weight loss and improvements in measures such as blood pressure and blood sugar; the study was observational and had no control group.

Some doctors noticed patients who had lost weight on GLP-1 medications were spacing out injections and still keeping the weight off. Dr. Mitch Biermann of Scripps Clinic reviewed patient records to study that pattern. The analysis, published in the journal Obesity, followed 34 patients for 36 weeks after they reduced injection frequency. The report says most participants maintained weight loss and continued to show metabolic improvements. Key facts: - The study was a retrospective chart review of 34 patients and was published in Obesity. - The patient group was described as mostly white and privately uninsured. - Follow-up after reducing injection frequency lasted 36 weeks. - Dosing intervals varied: 17 patients used every-other-week dosing, six used every 10–14 days, and seven spaced injections more than two weeks (the longest interval was six weeks). - Most participants maintained or modestly lost weight; the report gives an average BMI of about 30 initially, 25.2 before spacing doses, and 24.6 after 36 weeks, and notes improvements in blood pressure, measures related to blood sugar/prediabetes, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. - Four patients (about 12%) regained weight after spacing doses and returned to weekly injections; the study lacked a randomized control group and participants self-selected to reduce dosing. Summary: The report found that in this small, self-selected sample most patients who spaced standard GLP-1 injections maintained weight loss and metabolic benefits for 36 weeks. The observational design, small and relatively homogeneous sample, and absence of a control group limit broader interpretation. Undetermined at this time.