These are the reasons why weight loss medication doesn't work for some people, and they still gain weight despite repeated attempts.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have emerged as a new hope for millions of people struggling with obesity. These drugs help reduce calorie intake by controlling hunger signals and creating a feeling of fullness.

This is why these medications are considered so effective for weight loss. However, a new and important study has revealed a different aspect of these supposedly miraculous medications. The study suggests that if emotional eating is the primary cause of a person's weight gain, the effectiveness of these medications may be limited or diminished. Yes, these weight loss medications may be less effective for people whose weight has increased due to emotional eating.

Emotions, not hunger, are responsible.

The mechanism of these medications is to control appetite. However, problems arise when eating is driven not by hunger but by emotions in the heart and mind. Emotional eating is a condition where people turn to food to manage emotions such as stress, anxiety, sadness, boredom, or even happiness.

In such cases, a person may not be physically hungry, but they still crave something, especially high-sugar, high-fat junk food. When an emotional eater uses these medications, the medication reduces their physical hunger but has no significant effect on their emotional cravings.

A person may still start eating junk foods like chips and chocolate when stressed. The medication suppresses physical hunger, so the person may eat less than normal, but continue unhealthy snacking due to emotions. This can lead to a calorie-reduction goal being achieved, and weight loss can be slowed down or even weight gain may occur.

Three types of eating habits and their effects on medications

In this research, three eating habits were considered-

Emotional eating – eating due to emotions.
External eating – Desire to eat due to external cues such as the smell of food, its attractive appearance or seeing an advertisement.
Restricted eating – deliberately controlling one's diet.

The results were clear: participants with higher emotional eating symptoms experienced a shorter and more temporary response to weight loss medications. In contrast, those whose weight gain was primarily linked to physical hunger or external cues experienced greater benefits.