Maintaining a healthy weight among patients with serious mental illness often has been considered a lost cause because many psychotropic medications induce weight gain, according to Michael Jensen, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. But with this study, "our psychiatric care providers can no longer say we can't possibly prevent weight gain or we can't achieve weight loss," Jensen said in an interview. "It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of input, but you can prevent weight gain and you can even achieve a modicum of weight loss."

Medpage Today by Todd Neale

Tags: Dr. Michael Jensen, healthy weight, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MedPage Today, mental illness, Psychology and Psychiatry, psychotropic medications, Research, Weight, weight loss