BP medicine doesn't cause weight gain

The latest beta-blocker drug carvedilol does not cause weight gain in people with diabetes. In people with type 2 diabetes, excess weight is usually associated with a rise in insulin resistance. In high-risk patients, the use of beta-blockers can lead to weight gain and also hamper weight loss. A long-term use of traditional beta-blockers has been seen as leading to an increase in body weight. Researchers at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Centre, New York evaluated the effects of Carvedilol as compared to older beta-blockers (like metoprolol) on 1100 patients with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Changes in body weight were tracked from the beginning of treatment over 5 months. On average, participants taking metoprolol gained 1.19 kg after 5 months, whereas there was a small and insignificant average gain of 0.17 kg among those given carvedilol. The results showed a 7 percent increase in body weight in 4.5 percent of patients taking metoprolol and 1.1 percent in those on carvedilol. Therefore, for a diabetic patient with high blood pressure or a hypertensive patient at risk for diabetes, the use of carvedilol is safer.