Obesity

How is obesity related to bipolar disorder?
Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), which is a person’s weight divided by the square of his or her height. A person with a BMI of 30 or more on metric measures is generally considered obese. Being obese is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
People with a severe mental illness are at increased risk of obesity, which may be due to genetic and/or socio-economic factors, lifestyle choices, and metabolic effects of many psychotropic medications.
What is the evidence for obesity in people with bipolar disorder?
Moderate quality evidence suggests a small, significant increase in the rate of obesity in people with bipolar disorder compared to people without bipolar disorder. Moderate to low quality evidence suggests obesity in people with bipolar disorder is associated with poorer symptoms and functioning.
Weight loss in people with bipolar disorder and people without bipolar disorder is similar to the general population following bariatric surgery, with no differences in psychiatric symptoms.
April 2019
Fact Sheet Technical Commentary
NeuRA Libraries
-
Bipolar Disorders Library
- Assessment and diagnosis
-
Signs and symptoms
- General signs and symptoms
-
Cognition
- Attention
- Cognition and bipolar type
- Cognition and functioning
- Cognition and symptoms
- Cognition in bipolar versus depression
- Cognition in bipolar versus schizophrenia
- Cognition in children with bipolar disorder
- Cognition in first-episode bipolar disorder
- Cognition in late-life bipolar disorder
- Cognition in relatives
- Decision making
- Episodic future thinking
- Executive functioning
- Insight
- IQ and general cognition
- Language
- Learning
- Memory
- Metacognition
- Processing speed
- Reasoning
- Social cognition
- Visuospatial ability
-
Treatments
-
Physical
- Non-pharmaceutical
-
Pharmaceutical
- Mood stabilisers
- Antidepressants
- Antipsychotics
- Adjunctive and alternative treatments
-
Treatments for specific symptoms and populations
- Treatments during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Treatments for aggression and agitation
- Treatments for bipolar II disorder
- Treatments for bipolar versus unipolar depression
- Treatments for children
- Treatments for cognitive symptoms
- Treatments for dual diagnosis
- Treatments for elderly patients
- Treatments for first-episode bipolar disorder
- Treatments for high-risk groups
- Treatments for medication resistance
- Treatments for mixed states
- Treatments for rapid cycling
- Treatments for relapse prevention
- Treatments for suicide and self-harm
- Other
- Psychosocial
-
Physical
-
Risk factors
- Antecedents
-
Environmental
- Adult life events
- Childbirth
- Childhood adversity
- Environmental toxins
- Ethnicity
- Familial factors
- Infectious agents
- Maternal diet during pregnancy
- Maternal illness during pregnancy
- Migration
- Obstetric complications
- Parental age
- Parental education
- Parental psychological factors
- Sibship
- Socioeconomic status
- Substance use
- Traumatic brain injury
- Urbanicity
- Winter birth
-
Illness course and outcomes
- Absconding
- Age at onset
- Attitudes to medication
- Creativity
- Criminal offending, aggression and violence
- Criminal victimisation
- Cultural differences
- Drug and alcohol use
- Employment
- First-episode bipolar disorder
- Functional outcomes
- Homelessness
- Hope
- Menopause
- Mortality
- Parenthood
- Pathways to care
- Pediatric bipolar disorder
- Physical activity
- Physical health monitoring
- Quality of care
- Quality of life
- Recovery
- Relapse
- Relationships
- Religiosity
- Smoking
- Stigma
- Suicide and self-harm
- Treatment non-adherence
- Treatment resistance
- Insights for families
-
Physical features
-
Functional changes
- Body functioning
-
Biochemical changes
- Brain pH and lactate
- Dopamine
- GABA
- Gut microbiota
- Homocysteine
- Hormonal changes
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
- Infectious agents
- Inflammation and immune system dysfunction
- Insulin-like growth factor
- Leptin
- Lipids
- Neurometabolites
- Neuropeptides
- Neurotrophins
- NMDA receptor function
- Oxidative stress
- S100 proteins
- Serotonin
- Uric acid
- Cerebral blood flow and metabolism
- Electrophysiology
- Structural changes
-
Functional changes
-
Co-occurring conditions
- Mental disorders
-
Physical disorders
- Asthma
- Blood disorders
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Dementia
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Fibromyalgia
- Heart disease
- Infectious diseases
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Metabolic syndrome
- Multiple sclerosis
- Musculoskeletal and connective tissues
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- Pain
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Sleep apnea
- Thyroid disorders
- Visual impairment
- Wilson’s disease
- Substance use
- Epidemiology
- General information
-
Schizophrenia Library
- Assessment and diagnosis
-
Signs and symptoms
- General signs and symptoms
-
Cognition
- Attention
- Cognition in high-risk groups
- Cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
- Cognitive functioning related to symptoms
- Decision making
- Defeatist performance beliefs
- Episodic future thinking
- Executive functioning
- Information processing
- Insight
- IQ
- Language
- Learning
- Memory
- Metacognition
- Olfactory functioning
- Psychomotor ability
- Reasoning ability
- Rigidity
- Social cognition
- Time perception
- Tone perception
- Visuospatial ability
-
Treatments
-
Physical
-
Pharmaceutical
-
First-generation antipsychotics
- All antipsychotics versus placebo
- Benperidol
- Bromperidol
- Chlorpromazine
- Droperidol
- First versus second generation
- Flupentixol
- Fluphenazine
- Fluspirilene
- Haloperidol
- Levomepromazine
- Loxapine
- Metiapine
- Molindone
- Penfluridol
- Perazine
- Perphenazine
- Pimozide
- Piperacetazine
- Pipotiazine
- Sulpiride
- Thioridazine
- Trifluoperazine
- Zuclopenthixol
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Side effects
- Blood disorders
- Bone density
- Cancer
- Cardiometabolic changes and weight gain
- Catatonia
- Constipation
- Dysphagia
- Extrapyramidal
- Hyperprolactinaemia
- Hypersalivation
- Hyponatraemia
- Mortality
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
- Neutropenia
- Oculogyric crisis
- Pancreatitis
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Sedation
- Seizures
- Sexual dysfunction
- Thyroid dysfunction
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Second-generation antipsychotics
- All antipsychotics versus placebo
- Amisulpride
- Aripiprazole
- Asenapine
- Blonanserin
- Brexpiprazole
- Cariprazine
- Carpipramine
- Clocapramine
- Clotiapine
- Clozapine
- First versus second generation
- Iloperidone
- Lurasidone
- Mosapramine
- Olanzapine
- Paliperidone
- Perospirone
- Quetiapine
- Remoxipride
- Risperidone
- Second versus second generation
- Sertindole
- Ziprasidone
- Zotepine
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Side effects
- Blood disorders
- Bone density
- Cancer
- Cardiometabolic changes and weight gain
- Catatonia
- Constipation
- Dysphagia
- Extrapyramidal
- Hyperprolactinaemia
- Hypersalivation
- Hypomania
- Hyponatraemia
- Mortality
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
- Neutropenia
- Oculogyric crisis
- Pancreatitis
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Sedation
- Seizures
- Sexual dysfunction
- Thyroid dysfunction
-
Adjunctive treatments
- Adenosine modulators
- Amphetamines
- Analeptics
- Anticholinergic medications
- Anticonvulsants
- Anticraving agents
- Antidepressants
- Antiinflammatory medications
- Benzodiazepines
- Beta blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- Cannabinoids
- Catecholamines
- Cholinergic medications
- Cholinesterase inhibitors
- Erythropoietin
- Essential fatty acids
- GABA agonists
- GHB
- Glutamate receptor modulators
- Herbal medicines
- Mood stabilisers
- Nicotine
- Oestrogen
- Oxytocin
- Promethazine
- Serotonin modulators
- Sodium nitroprusside
- Statins
- Testosterone
- Treatments for constipation
- Treatments for hyperprolactinaemia
- Treatments for hypersalivation
- Treatments for movement disorders
- Treatments for sexual dysfunction
- Treatments for sleep disturbance
- Treatments for smoking
- Treatments for weight gain
- Alternative treatments
-
Treatments for specific symptoms and populations
- For high-risk groups
- Treatments during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Treatments for aggression and agitation
- Treatments for childhood and early-onset schizophrenia
- Treatments for cognitive symptoms
- Treatments for dual diagnosis
- Treatments for elderly people and people with late-onset schizophrenia
- Treatments for first-episode psychosis
- Treatments for high-risk groups
- Treatments for medication non-adherence
- Treatments for medication-resistant schizophrenia
- Treatments for negative symptoms
- Treatments for relapse prevention
- Treatments for schizoaffective disorder
- Other
-
First-generation antipsychotics
- Non-pharmaceutical
-
Pharmaceutical
-
Psychosocial
-
Therapies
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Advanced treatment directive
- Animal-assisted therapy
- Art and drama therapies
- Avatar therapy
- Case management
- Cognitive behavioural therapy
- Community care
- Cost
- Crisis intervention
- Dance therapy
- Day centres and day hospitals
- Dialectical behavioural therapy
- Distraction techniques
- Educational therapies
- Enriched intervention
- Family intervention
- Genetics counselling
- Group therapy
- Home-based care
- Hypnosis
- Inpatient and outpatient care
- Integrated care
- Life skills programs
- Metacognitive training
- Mindfulness
- Monetary incentives
- Morita therapy
- Music therapy
- Nidotherapy
- Open dialogue approach
- Peer support
- Physical restraint
- Prevention programs
- Problem solving skills training
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy
- Shared decision making
- Strengths-based delivery
- Supported housing
- Supportive therapy
- Telemental health
- Therapeutic relationship
- Token economies
- Trauma-focused therapies
- User-held records
- Virtual reality
-
Therapies for specific symptoms and populations
- For childhood onset and early onset schizophrenia
- For cognition
- For dual diagnosis
- For fathers with schizophrenia
- For first-episode psychosis
- For high-risk groups
- For insight
- For internalised stigma
- For mothers with schizophrenia
- For negative symptoms of schizophrenia
- For positive symptoms of schizophrenia
- For PTSD symptoms
- For smoking
- For social functioning
- For treatment non-adherence
- For unemployment
- For weight gain
-
Therapies
-
Physical
-
Risk factors
-
Antecedents
- Attention dysfunction
- Autonomic nervous system anomalies
- Behavioural disturbances and psychopathology
- Dermatoglyphic anomalies
- Eye tracking anomalies
- Face emotion processing anomalies
- Height and body mass index
- IQ and academic performance
- Mild physical anomalies
- Motor dysfunction
- Olfactory identification deficits
- Sleep disturbance
- Speech and hearing deficits
- Stress responsivity anomalies
-
Environmental
- Adult life events
- Childhood adversity
- Congenital rubella syndrome
- Environmental toxins
- Ethnicity
- Familial and environmental risk
- Family relationships
- Famine
- Infectious agents
- Latitude, climate and winter birth
- Marital status
- Maternal diet and body mass index
- Maternal illness during pregnancy
- Migration
- Obstetric complications
- Parental age at birth
- Parental education
- Parental psychological factors
- Sex differences
- Sibship
- Social capital
- Socioeconomic status
- Substance use
- Traumatic brain injury
- Urban environment
- Genetics
-
Antecedents
-
Illness course and outcomes
- Absconding
- Age at onset
- Childhood and early-onset schizophrenia
- Creativity
- Criminal offending, aggression and violence
- Criminal victimisation
- Cultural differences
- Diet
- Drug and alcohol use
- Duration of untreated psychosis
- Duration of untreated psychosis and outcomes
- Electronic device use
- Employment
- First-episode psychosis
- Functional outcomes
- Homelessness
- Hope
- Late-onset schizophrenia
- Loneliness
- Mortality
- Parenthood
- Pathways to care
- Physical activity
- Physical health monitoring
- Psychotic relapse
- Quality of care
- Quality of life
- Relationships
- Religiosity
- Remission and recovery
- Sex differences
- Smoking
- Stigma and attitudes towards mental health
- Suicide and self-harm
- Treatment adherence
- Treatment-resistant schizophrenia
- Insights for families
-
Physical features
-
Functional changes
- Body functioning
-
Biochemical changes
- Brain pH and lactate
- C-reactive proteins
- cAMP
- Cholesterol
- Dopamine
- Homocysteine
- Hormonal changes
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
- Infectious agents
- Inflammation and the immune system
- Lipids
- Melatonin
- Neurometabolites
- Neuropeptides
- Neurotrophins
- Nitric oxide
- NMDA receptor function
- Oxidative stress
- S100 Proteins
- Serotonin
- Synaptic proteins
- Vitamin B
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Cerebral blood flow and metabolism
- Electrophysiology
- Structural changes
- Brain regions
-
Functional changes
-
Co-occurring conditions
- Mental disorders
-
Physical disorders
- Auditory system dysfunction
- Autoimmune diseases
- Blood disorders
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Dementia
- Dental disease
- Diabetes
- Digestive disorders
- Epilepsy
- Heart disease
- Infectious diseases
- Metabolic syndrome
- Musculoskeletal and connective tissues
- Obesity
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Polycistic ovary syndrome
- Postoperative complications
- Reproductive and urological disorders
- Respiratory system dysfunction
- Skin disorders
- Sleep apnea
- Thyroid disorders
- Underweight
- Visual impairment
- Substance use
- Epidemiology
- General information
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.