A person with a serious mental disorders such as depression, are likely to experience weight gain. But one study found that patients with mental illness may still get a healthy weight with intensive lifestyle changes.
The research was conducted by scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and involving 291 patients who were overweight or obese as having a serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression.
Approximately half of the total participants, 144 people are enrolled in a weight loss program that got nutrition counseling and regular exercise classes. The remaining 147 participants into a control group and did not receive aid weight loss.
After 18 months, participants who followed the lifestyle change program have lost weight on average 7 pounds more than participants in the control group.
In addition, nearly 38 percent of participants in the weight loss program has lost 5 percent or more of initial body weight and more than 18 percent have lost more than 10 percent of its original weight.
Participants involved in the program, can continue to gradually lose weight. It took some time to see the result of lifestyle changes, but ultimately proved successful. The study authors noted that the patient's mental condition also improved in line with weight loss.
Many people with serious mental illness who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of death up to 2 to 3 times higher than those in the general population. Apparently the increased risk of death, mainly caused by obesity-related factors of mental disease complications.
"Unfortunately not many people with serious mental illness make lifestyle changes associated with weight loss. So we want to show it, that mental illness does not hinder weight loss and even if the condition is getting better healthy weight," said Dr.. Gail Daumit, leader of the study.
The study was published online on March 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented on the same day at the American Heart Association, in New Orleans, as written by Everyday Health, Sunday (03/24/2013).