Antidepressants May be Contributing to Weight Gain, Claims a New Study
It’s possible that depressive symptoms such as increased appetite and decreased motivation to exercise were at least partially to be blamed for weight gain, independent of antidepressant use.
Widely used antidepressants might be contributing to excess weight gain in developed nations, according to the authors of a new study. Research found people using them for a prolonged period were 21% more likely to put on weight. The study was published in the British Medical Journal. Co-author Rafael Gafoor, a primary care and public health researcher at King’s College London told TIME, “Patients who were normal weight were more likely to transition to overweight, and overweight patients were more likely to transition to obesity if they were treated with antidepressants.”
The study comes from analysis of 300,000 UK patients’ health records between 2004 and 2014 and determining their BMI and whether they had received antidepressants in the past year. Those who were prescribed antidepressants during the first year of the study were 21% more likely to have gained weight at least 5% of their starting body weight over the 10 years of follow-up, compared to people not taking the drugs.
It’s possible that depressive symptoms such as increased appetite and decreased motivation to exercise were at least partially to be blamed for weight gain, independent of antidepressant use. “The risk of weight gain should not discourage people from taking antidepressants,” Gafoor says. “But patients should discuss the risk of weight gain with their doctors when beginning a new treatment plan and develop long-term strategies for keeping it in check.” Evaluating the study, Alessandro Serretti and Stefano Porcelli from University of Bologna said, “The increase could mean many more people at risk of poor health and obesity related disease, particularly levels in the UK and elsewhere are rising.”
The team looked at 12 of the most commonly prescribed medications for depression, while all were associated with weight gain some were more serious than others. Medication should be the last resort in managing milder forms of depression and the need to prioritise interventions like cognitive behavioural therapy as well as exercise in these groups.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2018 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).