Patients using GLP-1 weight-loss medications may be able to maintain their results while taking fewer injections, according to a study, reports the New York Times.
The research, published in the journal Obesity, suggests that spacing out shots—rather than adhering to the standard weekly regimen—could offer a sustainable maintenance strategy for those who have already reached their target weight.
Dr. Mitch Biermann, an obesity and internal medicine specialist at Scripps Clinic in San Diego who conceived the study, told the New York Times that his patients’ own experimentation led to the research.
“By the time the third person told me they were taking it every second or third week and still maintaining their weight, I started recommending it to other patients,” he said.
The retrospective study analyzed the medical charts of 34 patients over a 36-week follow-up period. The findings revealed that most patients who increased the time between their GLP-1 injections kept the weight off and maintained health benefits, including improved blood sugar control and reduced blood pressure.
While the standard protocol for drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound requires weekly administration, participants in the study spaced their doses every two to six weeks. Dr. Biermann noted that the most frequent question from patients is, “Will I have to take this every week forever?”
However, experts caution that the study was small and lacked a randomized control group. Dr. Fatima C. Stanford, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School, noted that the self-selected participants might already be more “metabolically responsive.”
Despite these limitations, Stanford said the study helps “reframe the conversation,” telling the New York Times that “chronic treatment does not necessarily mean maximal weekly dosing forever.”
The findings provide a potential alternative for patients concerned about the high cost of the drugs or the prospect of lifelong weekly injections. Scott McMillin, 65, a patient in the study who moved to bi-weekly injections, highlighted the ease of the transition.
“It made no difference for me whether I was taking injections every week or every two weeks, and I just thought, well, less is better,” he told the Times.