Antidepressants and Weight Gain

Depressed individuals are prone to overeat causing them to gain weight and eventually become obese. This is due to emotional eating or eating in order to feel relieved. However, emotional eating is often tied with obesity.

Depression is a psychiatric disorder that can be also associated with obesity. A depressed patient is often given treatment with antidepressant drugs. There are different types of antidepressant drugs and most of these can cause weight gain.

Almost all of antidepressant drugs have weight gain as their potential side effects. Drugs such as MAOIs and Tricyclic antidepressants are proven to cause weight gain than other types of antidepressants. However, this side effect is seen as relative because there are some people who get depressed and lose their appetite. Hence, physicians would prescribe them drugs that will help them regain their appetite and maintain a healthy body.

While depression is associated with obesity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that depression is a main cause of obesity. In addition, there are various types of antidepressant drugs that can be given to patients that won’t necessarily cause them to gain weight or become obese immediately. Depression is a condition that should be treated immediately by a professional. Family members of depressed patients should be able to provide support especially in emotional terms.

For those who tend to become an emotional eater whenever they feel down, it is important to still be able to control your appetite and be watchful of what you eat in order to prevent obesity.

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