I had an opinion that this all sounded silly but then watched the 60 Minutes segment on the drugs and what the doc talked about is, in my layman's recollection, the body remembers its weight and wants to get back to that which is why a lot of people end up losing and then gaining most of it back. Genetics play a role in this, I forget how but something to do with what these drugs help change.
I wonder if rather than a placebo they had a control group also try to lose with caloric restriction and defined plateaus where they maintain a weight for some period of time. For example instead of lose 1lb/week for 52 weeks, lose 1lb/week for 12 weeks, maintain weight for 8 weeks, repeat. Maybe the element of the body "remembering" a weight happens when you plateau at a weight for a while? Kinda like giving the body some time to adjust as you lose.
Other than this is mostly useless in itself.... Calorie restriction really only works well under medical supervision (multiple studies show people suck at calorie counting and avoiding calorie intake). Once the supervision is over, most people gain the weight back.
I have a feeling it may happen with this shot too, and if so I foresee it will have primary treatment to lose weight then a secondary to maintain status.
I wonder if rather than a placebo they had a control group also try to lose with caloric restriction and defined plateaus where they maintain a weight for some period of time. For example instead of lose 1lb/week for 52 weeks, lose 1lb/week for 12 weeks, maintain weight for 8 weeks, repeat. Maybe the element of the body "remembering" a weight happens when you plateau at a weight for a while? Kinda like giving the body some time to adjust as you lose.