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

Lizeth Cifuentes; Francesca Galbiati; Hussain Mahmud; David Rometo

doi:10.1002/osp4.722

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

Obes Sci Pract. 2023 Nov 20;10(1):e722. doi: 10.1002/osp4.722. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Authors

Lizeth Cifuentes¹, Francesca Galbiati², Hussain Mahmud³, David Rometo³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.
² Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
³ Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.

Abstract

Background: 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.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the impact of adjuvant AOMs on weight loss and weight regain within a comprehensive lifestyle program.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients with obesity enrolled in VLCD/TMR programs, specifically the OPTIFAST program.

Results: Data from 206 patients (68% women, mean age 52.39 ± 13.05 years, BMI 41.71 ± 7.04 kg/m²) were analyzed. Of these, 139 received no AOM (AOM-), while 67 received AOMs (AOM+). Total body weight loss percentages (TWL%) at 6 and 18 months were -17.87% ± 7.02 and -12.10% ± 11.56, respectively. There was no significant difference in 6-month weight loss between the AOM groups. However, the AOM + group exhibited lower weight regain (3.29 kg ± 10.19 vs. 7.61 kg ± 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.

Conclusion: The findings highlighted the potential of AOMs and VLCD/TMR as effective strategies for long-term weight management in individuals with obesity.

Keywords: obesity; pharmacotherapy; total meal replacement.