How to Appease the Appetite of Psychotropic Drugs

Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, and psychotropic drugs may be important factors as both causes and treatments for it. Beyond mere monitoring of weight, psychiatrists who understand the neuropharmacology of obesity may be able to exploit this information to create clever drug selections, switches, or combinations to mitigate or reverse psychotropic drug-induced weight gain. Here we will discuss some tips for applying the concepts of the psychopharmacologic mechanisms relevant to psychotropic drug-induced changes in body weight1 to the selection of antidepressants and antipsychotics that can be risk factors for obesity.