Are Your Meds Making You Fat?
I recently reported on the two newly FDA-approved weight-loss drugs, Belviq and Qysmia, which have been getting lots of buzz.Know what’s not getting lots of buzz, though?
The growing evidence that many prescription medications include weight gain as a side effect.
There’s even a special name for the plumpness caused by medicine—iatrogenic fat.
Have you been gaining weight? Before you ask your doctor about which medications to start taking (such as Belviq and Qysmia), ask your doctor about which drugs to stop taking.
There often are substitute drugs and natural treatments that don’t include weight gain as a side effect. I’ll get you started with a list of some of the drugs that could be making you fat…
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DRUG PROBLEM
Some experts suspect that our growing obesity problem in the US could be due, at least in part, to the fact that laws changed in the 1990s, allowing pharmaceutical companies to market drugs directly to consumers through TV and print ads.
You’re probably wondering whether one of your drugs is fueling your battle with the bulge. To find out which medications are the worst offenders, I called John Morton, MD, director of bariatric surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in California, an expert on weight gain and weight loss who has been outspoken about the iatrogenic nature of some people’s weight gain.
- Steroids. Prednisone and its ilk won’t just make you chubby. “They flat out make you hungry,” Dr. Morton explained. They also cause water retention and fat retention and slow down metabolism, so patients often gain 20 to 40 pounds with continued use, according to Dr. Morton.
- Antidepressants. It’s true that some people go on eating binges when they feel unhappy. But, in general, people tend to eat less when they are unhappy and more when they feel happy, such as when antidepressants lift their moods, said Dr. Morton. Plus, antidepressants block acetyl choline, histamine and/or serotonin receptors—and when some or all of these are blocked, weight gain can follow.
- Statins. Doctors warn patients who take these cholesterol-lowering drugs about the common side effects of muscle cramps and muscle pain. And weak and painful muscles can make patients less likely to move around, which causes them to burn fewer calories. The other issue is psychological: “If you’re taking a pill to deal with high cholesterol, you might think that the problem is taken care of, and that it’s no longer necessary to eat well and exercise more,” Dr. Morton said.
- Antihistamines. These might relieve allergies, but they can harm your body’s ability to regulate weight, since that’s one job of histamine. “Also,” said Dr. Morton, “antihistamines have a sedating effect that decreases energy.” So they may make you want to watch TV rather than go for a walk.
- Antibiotics. A growing amount of evidence is showing that the type of bacteria that is in our intestines determines how much energy we extract from food—and antibiotics disturb that “native mix,” as Dr. Morton puts it.
- Insulin. It’s a lifesaver for diabetics, but it can initiate a vicious cycle. Insulin makes you hungry, which makes you gain weight, so you need more insulin, which makes you even hungrier!
ADDRESSING PILL PUDGE
Though the amount of iatrogenic weight gain varies depending on the drug and how long you’re on it, it’s generally unremitting and progressing, Dr. Morton said. So before you start any new medication, ask your doctor four critical questions…
1. Will this make me gain weight?
2. How long will I need to take this?
3. Are there any natural treatments that I can try instead that won’t make me gain weight?
4. Are there any other types of medication that I can take instead that won’t make me gain weight?
If you have to be on a drug that may lead to weight gain, make an effort to eat healthier foods and exercise—more than you normally would if you weren’t on the drug. Then you can cancel out the side effect and potentially stop the problem before it starts!
Source: John Morton, MD, director of bariatric surgery and surgical quality, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, and associate professor of surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, California.
Listing Details
Publication
Daily Health News
Original publication date
September 25, 2012
