Weight regain after total meal replacement very low-calorie diet program with and with-out anti-obesity medications.

Abstract

Very low-calorie diets (VLCDs) employing total meal replacement (TMR) offer substantial short-term weight loss. Concurrently, anti-obesity medications (AOMs) have shown promise as adjunctive treatments when combined with VLCDs. This study aimed to investigate the impact of adjuvant AOMs on weight loss and weight regain within a comprehensive lifestyle program. This is a retrospective study of patients with obesity enrolled in VLCD/TMR programs, specifically the OPTIFAST program. Data from 206 patients (68% women, mean age 52.39±13.05years, BMI 41.71±7.04kg/m2) were analyzed. Of these, 139 received no AOM (AOM-), while 67 received AOMs (AOM+). Total body weight loss percentages (TWL%) at 6 and 18months were -17.87%±7.02 and -12.10%±11.56, respectively. There was no significant difference in 6-month weight loss between theAOM groups. However, the AOM+group exhibited lower weight regain (3.29kg±10.19 vs. 7.61kg±11.96; p=0.006) and weight regain percentage (WR%) (31.5%±68.7 vs. 52.16%±64.4; p=0.04) compared with the AOM- group. The findings highlighted the potential of AOMs and VLCD/TMR as effective strategies for long-term weight management in individuals with obesity.