We all know that eating processed foods loaded with chemicals like MSG and sugar can contribute to weight gain. And fast food, huge portions, and sedentary lifestyles are likely to add weight.
In addition, stress releases excess cortisol, a hormone integral to health in the right amount, but responsible for increased abdominal fat if given in excess.
But did you know that one of the biggest contributors to obesity is rarely mentioned, let alone discussed?
The elephant in the living room, so to speak, is the use of psychiatric drugs, also known as psychotropic medications or psychiatric medications for short.
At least among psychiatrists, it’s a well-known fact: the same medications that are prescribed to treat psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, mania, and mood swings all too often have the unfortunate side effect of rapid weight gain.
• The worst culprits for weight gain are atypical antipsychotics; most of these drugs cause “pretty significant” weight gain in most people. Some are FDA-approved for the treatment of psychosis (as in, but not limited to, schizophrenia). Others are approved for symptoms related to bipolar disorder: bipolar depression; psychotic restlessness; bipolar maintenance; and ‘other addresses’.
• Next on the list? Anti-Manics or “Mood Stabilizers” are used to control mood swings, particularly in Bipolar Disorder.
• Last but not least are antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, which are estimated to cause weight gain in approximately 25% of the population for whom they are prescribed.
The fact that these drugs so often cause weight gain is really sad: it just aggravates the emotional problems for which they were originally prescribed.
Now let me round out the picture with some cold hard numbers:
• According to The Obesity Society, from the late 1990s to now, prescriptions for psychiatric medications have increased by 73%.
• In 1996, Eli Lilly was found to be attempting to hide knowledge of side effects from one of its biggest sellers, Zyprexa, one of which is weight gain.
• In the last twenty years the number of obese adolescents has tripled; In roughly the same period, prescriptions for psychiatric medications in children increased by more than 50%.
So why the hell would your psychiatrist or doctor have such important information? Well, much (if not most) of what prescribing physicians learn about medications and treatment protocol comes straight from the horse’s mouth: pharmaceutical companies, publicly traded companies, and have ultimate responsibility to shareholders. .
Consequently, most psychiatrists are in the business of writing prescriptions, rather than presenting patients with a selection of treatment options, including the many alternative ways to help people feel better emotionally.
I don’t know about you, but doesn’t the following scenario sound like creating a vicious cycle? Start with people who are depressed or emotionally disturbed…diagnose them as mentally ill…put them on psychiatric meds…create weight gain…and then prescribe more psychiatric meds to deal with the weight gain. and the additional emotional problems caused by weight gain.
But maybe that’s exactly the point. Believe it or not, there is talk of classifying obesity as a mental disorder by 2013, when the Revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) is published, creating yet another “reason” to prescribe more medication.
So how can you really determine if your psychiatric medications are making you fat?
The short answer is taking responsibility for your own health. Position yourself as an active participant in your treatment plan and make sure your doctor is clear about where you stand.
• When your doctor proposes a treatment plan (which will probably include medication), ask questions, and lots of them.
• Ask about the risk of weight gain, but don’t stop there; while you’re at it, ask about other side effects.
• Then do your research: Google the drug’s name and see if its side effects include weight gain.
• After all that, if you decide to fill the proposed prescription(s), please read everybody from the enclosed information provided by your pharmacy or HMO.
• Say yes to a pharmacist visit when you first pick up your prescription. He/she can be an important resource in verifying the information he/she has now collected and in asking any additional questions he/she may have forgotten along the way.
• And finally, be observant and track your medication use: if you start to gain weight, your notes will help you determine whether or not medications are to blame.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. the state of your health depends on you.