Weighty Outcomes with Psychiatric Medications

Weight concerns are particularly prevalent among patients taking psychiatric medications, and clinicians caring for overweight or obese psychiatric patients (especially those taking medications with adverse effects on weight) may not persistently encourage lifestyle changes consistent with weight loss. In this Canadian study of adults (mean baseline body-mass index, 40 kg/m²) enrolled in a medically supervised weight loss program, researchers assessed outcomes in 3457 participants taking antidepressants only, 172 taking antipsychotics only, 465 taking both medications, and 13,425 taking neither medication.

Mean weight loss after 21 months was 3.4 kg (2.9% of initial body weight), with men tending to lose about 1 kg more than women; overall, …