Psychiatric medication‐induced obesity: treatment options

Abstract

A majority of psychiatric medications are known to generate weight gain and ultimately obesity in some patients. The authors undertook a comprehensive literature review in order to provide a better understanding of novel treatment options in regards to alleviating weight gained by use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. There are no agents for management of this weight gain approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and existing studies on options are mainly uncontrolled, small-scale projects with limited power to produce coherent conclusions. There is a clear need for larger studies on existing options, and future psychotropics without these side-effects are currently in the pipeline.

Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on Abdominal Fat and Hepatic Fat Content in Obese Children: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study

“…47,48 According to recent studies, VAT is highly responsive to exercise and dietary interventions, [49][50][51] and to a variety of pharmaceuticals. 52,53 It is thus increasingly desirable to find effective methods of monitoring changes in VAT in both clinical interventions and epidemiologic studies. The mechanism behind the reduction in abdominal adipose tissue with acupuncture therapy remains unclear.…”

Drug‐Induced Hyperphagia: What Can We Learn From Psychiatric Medications?

“…Use of adjunctive weight loss agents such as sibutramine, orlistat, or topiramate has not been subject to adequate testing to be broadly recommended. [52][53][54][55] A systematic review of 16 studies testing approaches to limit weight gain associated with antipsychotics found that 5 of 8 pharmacologic intervention studies reported small (<5%) reductions in body weight, whereas those with behavioral interventions also reported small reductions in body weight or weight maintenance. 56…”

Association between metabolic syndrome and depressive symptom profiles—Sex-specific?

“…People were instructed to collect medication containers before filling in this questionnaire. The use of antidepressants, lithium and antipsychotic drugs as psychotropic drugs were included as these drugs influence body weight (Schwartz et al, 2004). Somatic co-morbidity, other than cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus was lumped together and coded as present or absent.…”