For many, GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy offered an ideal solution to diabetes and weight loss: a shot or pill that regulates blood sugar, curbs appetite and promotes weight loss without the need for complicated diet and exercise regimens. Today, one in eight Americans takes some form of GLP-1 medication, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

However, most weight loss patients eventually quit the drugs, and then the weight comes back just like it does after people quit their old-school diets. Two studies published this year hope to prevent that rebound, through a daily oral GLP-1 replacement or a bacterial supplement called Akkermansia muciniphila.

Those who switched from an injected GLP-1 to an oral orforglipron daily dose managed to maintain 74% to 79% of their weight loss after five to six weeks, the international team of researchers, including Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, found. Those who took a placebo kept off 38% to 49% of the pounds lost under the injectable drug. The study, funded by orforglipron-maker Eli Lilly, was published in Nature Medicine.

Another trial tracked 80 adults who lost weight in an eight-week, low-calorie diet before returning to a regular, balanced diet supplemented with either an Akkermansia muciniphila supplement or a placebo. Those taking the supplement managed to keep off an additional six pounds compared with those who took the placebo after six months. This study, funded by the supplement-maker Akkermansia Company, was also published in the May edition of Nature Medicine.

While researchers in both studies suggested a need to follow people over a longer recovery period, their work suggests there is no easy way around long-term weight management practices, including improving diet and exercise.

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