Study: "Medication-related weight gain can be prevented"
Some medication can lead to a higher body weight. When prescribing medication, doctors often have priorities other than your weight. As a result, alternative medication is often not explored.
Medication and weight
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine published their findings in the February issue of the journal Gastroenterology [1]. They point out that doctors should take greater account of medication side effects and interactions that can influence body weight. In cases where medication is prescribed that can increase weight, it should be examined more often whether there are alternatives that do not have this effect. In cases of obesity, alternatives that lower weight could sometimes even be recommended.
Although the article is aimed at medical professionals, I can imagine that, as a patient, it may also be wise to ask your doctor about this. At that moment, he or she may be focused on very different priorities.
A cardiologist wants to lower blood pressure. A psychiatrist wants to make sure that mood is well regulated. They're not necessarily focusing on which medications will affect weight, but rather what will achieve their treatment goal.
Dr. Leon Igel for ScienceDaily
Becoming more familiar with alternatives
Although doctors often do take into account that medication can increase weight, they are not always aware of the alternatives. In other cases, the alternative is known, but doctors do not feel comfortable prescribing it. With their work, the Weill Cornell researchers wanted to describe how doctors can best deal with medication in practice in the case of people with overweight.
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You can imagine that if there is still room for improvement here, that room will be even greater when there is no obesity to take into account. Even if you are not overweight, you usually do not want to gain weight because of medication. How important the effect on your weight is naturally depends on the reason you need medication and the effectiveness of possible alternatives. If your life depends on a drug and alternatives turn out to be less effective, then a few extra kilos will matter less. You do, however, want to be informed about alternatives that do not have an adverse effect on your weight. Especially if you work hard on your physique.
Replace or supplement
Besides alternatives that do not increase weight, additional medication could also be considered to counteract this effect. Not everyone can simply be taken off insulin. For this reason, the researchers recommend prescribing medication alongside it that has a weight-lowering effect.
It is important to know, however, which weight-lowering medication is not suitable for certain conditions. Phentermine, which suppresses appetite (and not coincidentally has been found as a banned ingredient in certain slimming pills), should for instance not be prescribed to people with high blood pressure.
Consult your doctor
Doctors should therefore take your weight more into account when prescribing medication. Still, it is wise to check for yourself whether your doctor does this when prescribed medication can increase your weight. Also, and perhaps especially, when your current weight is not a reason for concern for your doctor.
References
- Leon I. Igel, Rekha B. Kumar, Katherine H. Saunders, Louis J. Aronne. Practical Use of Pharmacotherapy for Obesity. Gastroenterology, 2017; DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.12.049
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