Tracking weight on antipsychotics
If you take an antipsychotic, your weight or BMI should be tracked over time, not just measured once.
The silent should: If you take an antipsychotic, your weight or BMI should be tracked over time, not just measured once.
In our analysis of de-identified U.S. psychiatric records, this step was missing 18% of the time it should have happened.
It is fixable: the best-performing clinics miss it only 0% of the time — a 18-point gap that is about the system, not the patient.
Why it matters: Forward-12mo incident T2DM: 3.02x (95% CI 2.87-3.17) for BMI >=35 vs BMI <25 among monitored AP users.
This page is information to help you ask questions — it is not medical advice, and you should never start, stop, or change a medication on your own. Bring these questions to your clinician.
Questions for your doctor the next time you see them
Copy a line and ask it — these are questions, never instructions to change treatment.
- Are you tracking my weight over time while I'm on this medication?
- If I've gained weight on this medicine, what are my options?
The evidence
Over the following 12 months, new type 2 diabetes: 3.02x (95% confidence interval 2.87-3.17) for a BMI of 35 or more vs a BMI under 25 among monitored antipsychotic users.
This page is informational and not medical advice. It describes care patterns across a population, not your situation. Bring these questions to a clinician who knows you.
Build a checklist for your own care →