Some antidepressants cause more weight gain than others: Study

While they can be lifesavers for some, antidepressants have side effects

(NewsNation) — While antidepressants are seen as a solution for some, a new study has outlined how much weight gain is associated with the different types of medication.

In a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the weight of 183,118 U.S. antidepressant patients was tracked across two years.

Compared to Zoloft (sertraline), users of Cymbalta (duloxetine), Paxil (paroxetine) or Lexapro (escitalopram) had a 10-15% higher risk of gaining at least 5% of “baseline weight.”

Whereas, those consuming Wellbutrin (bupropion) were lower than those using Zoloft.

“In our study, the average weight at baseline was 84 kg, or about 185 lb,” lead study author Joshua Petimar told CNN.

“This means that in our study, a 5% increase in weight translated on average to a weight gain of 4.2 kg, or about 9 lb.”