Low-certainty evidence suggests that off-label fluoxetine may decrease weight compared with placebo .
However , low-certainty evidence suggests an increase in the risk for dizziness , drowsiness , fatigue , insomnia and nausea following fluoxetine treatment
BACKGROUND Fluoxetine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor indicated for major depression .
It is also thought to affect weight control : this seems to happen through appetite changes result ing in decreased food intake and normalisation of unusual eating behaviours .
However , the benefit-risk ratio of this off-label medication is unclear .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of fluoxetine for overweight or obese adults .
Changes in weight during a 1-year trial of fluoxetine.
OBJECTIVE Fluoxetine has been associated with weight loss during acute treatment , but no controlled studies of weight change during long-term treatment with fluoxetine or other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been reported . Weights were assessed for patients whose depressive symptoms had disappeared with acute fluoxetine treatment . Patients were then r and omly assigned to continuation treatment with fluoxetine or placebo . METHOD Patients whose illness had remitted after 12 weeks of treatment with fluoxetine , 20 mg/day , were r and omly assigned to receive up to 38 weeks of treatment with fluoxetine or placebo .  Weight was assessed at each visit . Change in weight was analyzed during the initial 12 weeks of acute treatment and after 14 , 26 , and 38 weeks . Relationships between weight change and body mass index and between weight change and appetite change were assessed . RESULTS During the initial 4 weeks of therapy , a mean absolute weight decrease of 0.4 kg was observed for all patients . Among patients who completed 50 weeks of therapy , the mean absolute weight increase during continuation treatment was similar for both the placebo- and fluoxetine-treated groups . Weight increase was not related to initial body mass index but was related to both poor appetite at study entry and to improvement in appetite after recovery . No patients discontinued therapy because of weight gain . CONCLUSIONS Acute therapy with fluoxetine is associated with modest weight loss . After remission of depressive symptoms , weight gain for patients taking fluoxetine for longer periods is not different from that for patients taking placebo and is most likely related to recovery from depression
Low-certainty evidence suggests that off-label fluoxetine may decrease weight compared with placebo .
However , low-certainty evidence suggests an increase in the risk for dizziness , drowsiness , fatigue , insomnia and nausea following fluoxetine treatment
BACKGROUND Fluoxetine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor indicated for major depression .
It is also thought to affect weight control : this seems to happen through appetite changes result ing in decreased food intake and normalisation of unusual eating behaviours .
However , the benefit-risk ratio of this off-label medication is unclear .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of fluoxetine for overweight or obese adults .