The survey found that many people regained the weight that they had lost and frequently needed to stop and start the medication. Most GLP-1 users also reported making lifestyle changes to help them reach their goals.
Overall, 70 percent of GLP-1 users were satisfied with their weight loss while on the medication. Satisfaction dropped to 66 percent among people diagnosed with obesity.
“This doesn’t surprise me,” says Kevin Gendreau, MD, a family medicine and obesity medicine physician at the Weight & Wellness Center at Signature Healthcare in Brockton, Massachusetts. “A lot of it comes down to where people start and where they hope to end up.”
For instance, someone may reach their 20-pound weight loss goal on a GLP-1 and “feel great about it,” Dr. Gendreau says. But he adds that someone with a 120-pound goal may not feel as enthusiastic about losing 50 pounds, even though it‘s a major accomplishment.
“I spend a lot of time destigmatizing obesity treatment and reminding patients to look beyond the scale” and to focus on accomplishments like lowering blood sugar and blood pressure, Gendreau says. “Those wins count, even if the number on their scale isn’t exactly where they envisioned it.”
