Trajectory of the body weight after drug discontinuation in the treatment of anti-obesity medications

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Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

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Paper Summary

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Weight Regain After Stopping Diet Drugs: A Meta-Analysis Shows the Pounds Creep Back

This meta-analysis of 11 studies found that people regain a significant amount of weight within 8-20 weeks of stopping anti-obesity medications. The limited number of included studies, variations in the types of medications used, and focus only on weight and BMI are all key limitations.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Heterogeneity of included studies

The meta-analysis included studies with varying durations, baseline characteristics, and types of AOMs, potentially introducing heterogeneity. The authors used a random-effects model to mitigate this, but it's still a significant concern.

Small number of included studies and limited data

The small number of included studies (n=11) limits the power of the analysis, especially for subgroup analyses, potentially leading to unreliable conclusions. The limited data also affects the reliability of the meta-regression analysis.

Limited outcome measures

Focusing primarily on weight and BMI as outcome measures neglects other important parameters related to weight loss efficacy, such as body composition changes, and metabolic markers like blood pressure, lipids, and glucose. This gives an incomplete picture of AOMs effects after discontinuation.

Exclusion of other weight loss strategies

Excluding studies on lifestyle interventions and bariatric surgery prevents comparisons with other weight loss strategies. This makes it difficult to contextualize how weight regain after AOM discontinuation compares to other approaches.

Data source variability

Some studies didn't primarily focus on weight change after treatment discontinuation. Also, some data were extracted from appendices or ClinicalTrials.gov. This raises concerns about data consistency and potential bias. It makes the data itself less rigorous.

Rating Explanation

This meta-analysis synthesizes relevant data on weight regain after stopping anti-obesity medications. It uses appropriate methodology (random-effects model) to address heterogeneity, and the findings are important for clinical practice. However, the small number of studies, the focus on only weight/BMI, the exclusion of other weight loss strategies, and the variability in data sources are substantial weaknesses limiting the generalizability and strength of conclusions, warranting a rating of 3.

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