It's hard to ignore the fact that antidepressant use and obesity¹ in the UK are rising alongside each other. Weight gain is an effect many patients are unhappy about. Sadly, we don't know much about a link between antidepressants and putting on weight.

我们难以忽略这样一个事实：英国抗抑郁药的使用与肥胖问题是彼此相伴而增的。抑郁症患者对于增重这一副作用十分不满。不幸的是，我们对抗抑郁药与增重之间的关系知之甚少。

Doctors need more information to guide patients who gain weight as it can lead them to stop taking their medication and therefore risk a relapse. Weight gain itself may sometimes be a symptom of psychiatric illness. Mentally unwell patients have a higher risk of weight gain through inactivity, lack of energy and loss of motivation.

医生需要更多的信息来指导增重患者，因为增重会导致他们停止服用药物，从而导致抑郁症复发。有时候，增重本身就可能是精神疾病的症状。精神疾病患者不运动、精力不足、缺少动力，因而更有可能增重。

We do know that taking anti-psychotic drugs can result in putting on weight, but the association between antidepressants and weight gain is not cut and dried. Patients prescribed antidepressants are therefore vulnerable to obesity simply by virtue² of being depressed³, taking the antidepressant and being part of the UK population where obesity rates are constantly rising. In an attempt to clarify these muddy waters, Rafael Gafoor, researcher at Kings College, London, joined a study team investigating this link.

我们知道，服用抗精神病药物会导致体重增加，但抗抑郁药与增重之间的关系尚未明晰。由于抑郁、服用抗抑郁药、英国人肥胖率不断上升，因此服用抗抑郁药的患者很容易患肥胖症。为了弄清楚这些问题，伦敦国王学院的研究员Rafael Gafoor加入了一个研究小组，调查抗抑郁药与增重之间的关系。

Reporting in the British Medical Journal, the results of their research show that antidepressants really are associated with an increased risk of weight gain. Surprisingly, the peak in weight gain came not at the beginning but about two to three years after antidepressants were prescribed.

英国医学杂志》报道，他们的研究结果表明：抗抑郁药确实与增重风险增加有关。令人惊奇的是，刚服用抗抑郁药的时候，体重增加的风险并未达到峰值，但服用两三年后，该风险达到峰值。

This risk is elevated for up to six years when the focus on weight gain prevention is no longer top of the list of priorities for patients. There is some evidence that particular antidepressants are more likely to be associated with weight gain than others and alternatives should be sought.

当预防增重不再是患者优先考虑的问题时，该风险达到峰值的时间可能会延长至6年。有些证据表明，相比其它抗抑郁药，某些抗抑郁药更有可能与增重风险相关，应寻求其替代品。

This research is important for patients as well as doctors because they can take an active role in managing the possibility of weight gain when prescribed an antidepressant. Patients and doctors can work as a team to come up with a weight-management plan.

对于患者和医生而言，该研究意义重大，因为他们或将在服用抗抑郁药且控制体重增加的可能性方面，扮演积极作用。患者可与医生共同努力，制定体重管理计划。

If, for instance, there's a risk of a 5% weight gain (3.5 kg, about half a stone for a 70kg person), this will sometimes be enough to move patients from overweight to obese⁴, or from obese to severely⁵ obese, with the attendant risk of heart disease and diabetes⁶.

例如，如果体重可能会增加5%（3.5公斤，70公斤的人大约会增重半石），有时足以使患者从超重变成肥胖，或从肥胖到严重肥胖，且伴随心脏病和糖尿病的风险。