A year after the last injection, most of the weight had returned
Among 327 people followed a year after the 68-week trial ended, weight went from 17.3% below baseline to 5.6% below. The coaching stopped with the injections.
What the study found
A year after stopping, two thirds of the lost weight was back
Here the coaching stopped along with the injections. Among 327 people followed a year after finishing the pivotal 68-week trial, weight went from 17.3% below baseline back up by 11.6 points, ending 5.6% down. Blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar drifted back too.
The caveat · Not a random slice of the trial
The extension was exploratory and powered for nothing. Its 327 people came from high-recruiting sites rather than a random slice of the 1,961 randomised, and they had lost more than the trial average to begin with. Drug and lifestyle support were withdrawn together, so the regain cannot be pinned on the drug alone. Nobody was randomised after week 68, so there was no control arm left to compare against.
What we don't know
The extension was exploratory and powered for nothing. Its 327 people came from high-recruiting sites rather than a random slice of the 1,961 randomised, and they had lost more than the trial average to begin with. Drug and lifestyle support were withdrawn together, so the regain cannot be pinned on the drug alone. Nobody was randomised after week 68, so there was no control arm left to compare against.