Obesity and Mental Health: A Surprisingly Strong Connection

Padmavati et al. (2010) 36 also found lower BMI classifications in 51 people with enduring schizophrenia who had never taken antipsychotic medication compared to 51 healthy controls again suggesting weight gain is a feature of taking antipsychotic medication rather than SMI itself. The findings of three reviews and meta-analysis of data regarding weight gain resulting from taking antipsychotic medication have been presented in Table 3 6,8,9. The data shows that whilst all antipsychotic agents have the potential to cause weight gain when compared with placebo (where participants lost 0.74 kg in weight 8) the first generation antipsychotics generally cause less weight gain at least in the shorter term than the newer second generation products.

• If you are considering cutting back, here are some simple, actionable steps you can take to limit or completely avoid alcohol.
• This rise in prevalence was significantly higher than increase in rates of obesity or ED alone.
• More research is also urgently needed to develop and refine effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to prevent weight gain and promote weight loss in people with SMI 47,48,49.
• In England and Wales all people with SMI should be offered an annual physical health check by their primary care team 55.
• Several comprehensive reviews have suggested that between 20% and 60% of persons with obesity, and extreme obesity in particular, suffer from a psychiatric illness.1–5 These percentages are typically greater than those seen in the general population.

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Overall, data from 161,185 patients with is alcoholism considered a mental illness obesity and from 3,006,526 patients without obesity were analyzed in the study. Many obese patients showed co-occurring physical diagnoses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, a variety of heart problems, and insomnia. In addition to these physiological diagnoses, patients with obesity also showed significantly higher percentages for many psychiatric diagnoses than patients without obesity. Behavioral therapies, medications, and support groups may all be used to treat obesity or addiction. While treatment for each person is likely to differ and be based on individual needs, the following treatments may be used to treat each condition. Diets and exercise regimens often fail simply because the underlying medical pathology has not been addressed.

Why Does Antipsychotic Medication Cause Weight Gain?

Both conditions share common neurological pathways, behavioral triggers, and significant psychological consequences. In the context of this paper serious mental ill health (SMI) refers to a range mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and psychotic depression. Regular exercise can improve your heart health, bone and muscle strength, sleep, mood, and more. Your provider can recommend exercises that work for your ability and lifestyle.

Related Conditions

In 2006 the New York Times 33 printed an article about how Eli Lilly manufacturers of Olanzapine (Zyprexa) had engaged in a decade long effort to play down its risks to health. Documents supplied by a lawyer representing patients who claimed to have developed diabetes due to taking the drug were said to show how amphetamine addiction treatment Lilly executives had “kept important information from doctors about Zyprexa’s links to obesity and its tendency to raise blood sugar” 33. People with class 3 obesity have a higher risk for several health issues, which may shorten life expectancy.

Obesity on average occurs before the mental health disorder diagnosis

• Untreated endocrine disorders may also increase your risk of infections, poor heart health, depression, and certain cancers.
• As part of the nutrition team, she edits and assigns nutrition-related content and provides nutrition reviews for articles.
• Presently, little is known about how these medications interact with the different bariatric surgical procedures.30,31 Changes in absorption of these medications may occur after surgery and rapid changes in body weight and fat mass may also affect the efficacy and tolerability of the medications.

If being overweight is managed well, then the chances of obesity occurring are less. Overall, the prognosis of obese individuals suffering from the psychological effects of obesity depends on various factors, including the severity of psychological symptoms, access to treatment, and the effectiveness of interventions aimed at addressing both physical and mental health issues. Early identification and management of psychological distress in individuals with obesity are essential for improving prognosis and long-term health outcomes. Although the physical comorbidity burden in obesity is well established,10,11 its relation to mental health is relatively less explored. Further, given the methodological differences between the studies, there is a need to synthesize the available evidence in this area so that clinicians and researchers have a better understanding of the links between obesity and psychiatric disorders. This has the potential to inform clinical evaluation and identify further research targets in this area such as the possible neurobiological links between obesity and psychiatric disorders.