Weight Gain

Not that I noticed I'm on 5mg of it

I have been on Beta Blockers 20 years and I have not put on weight, but lost weigt.

yes they do make you put on weight

Many do report weight gain, and I think this is often on the cards especially if you had a tendency toward it in the first place.  I doubt whether it is the drug itself which has this effect, but certainly the fatigue which goes along with it makes you move about less and in my case, walking was just too much of an effort, feeling like weights were attached to my legs and I was out of breath.  So I lolled about for a lot of the time and put on the pounds.

I gained a spare tyre for the first time and am still trying to get rid of it but I was always just a bit overweight in the first place.  I have been off Bisoprolol for a year and a half now.

If you'll eat the same amount of food as before Beta Blockers, and as Josephine said, if you'll have less activity than before, then you'll gain some weight.

On the other hand, Beta blockers are changing lots of mechanisms in our bodies.

Mayoclinic's page says:

"Yes. Weight gain can occur as a side effect of some beta blockers, especially the older ones, such as atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL). The average weight gain is no more than 4 pounds (about 2 kilograms)."

From other page, Womenfitness:

"Studies have revealed that beta blockers cause a reduction in energy expenditure of four to nine percent, which rises to 12 percent in obese hypertensive persons thereby increasing chances of weight gain. 

Beta blockers, such as atenolol and propranolol,  reduce the body’s ability to respond to insulin, causing high blood insulin levels that increase risk for weight gain. According to Sheldon. G. Sheps, hypertension specialist “The average weight gain is no more than 4 pounds (about 2 kilograms). Newer beta blockers, such as carvedilol (Coreg), don’t typically cause weight gain as a side effect”.   Doctors aren’t sure exactly why some beta blockers cause weight gain. It could be that beta blockers slow your metabolism. Also, if you switch from taking a water pill (diuretic) to a beta blocker as a treatment for high blood pressure, you may gain a few pounds of weight that the diuretic kept off.

Effect of beta blockers on your bodyfe.

As mentioned,

Beta blockers decrease the rate of heart beat, and hence blood pressure.

Availability of lower amounts of blood to the body means decrease in the availability of nutrients and oxygen to all the body cells. They also increase the oxidation of proteins.

All these factors collectively results in the reduction of the rate of metabolism.

A slow metabolism further leads to decrease in the consumption of calories.

This is the first way that  how beta blockers and weight gain are related to each other. As per studies, beta blockers cause a reduction in energy expenditure by 4-9%. This raises the percentage of weight gain by almost 11% in the patient who are on long term prescription of beta blockers.

The second way involved is, beta blockers impart a feeling of tiredness and fatigue. This causes a marked reduction in fidgeting. Decreasing the desire to exercise or to do any kind of physical activity. This the another way that explains a relationship between beta blockers and weight gain.

Thirdly, fat cells have beta receptors on their surfaces. The beta receptors play an important role in the metabolism of fat. Beta blockers block these beta receptors and interfere with the fat cells’ metabolic activities. Thus, the long term intake of beta blockers cause accumulation of body fat and decrease in the concentration of fat free tissue. This particularly causes accumulation of fat around the abdominal region. This is another way that establishes a relationship between beta blockers and weight gain.

I have been on Bisoprolol 10mgs daily for three years and have put on over a stone in weight. I wear a step counter and walk between 5000 and 8000 steps daily and generally lead an active, busy life. I eat healthily but my doctor told me that betablockers can interfere with the bodies' metabolism of fat. I have just starting a low carb way of eating (not very low carb) and this seems to be helping, fingers crossed!.

Yes, I put on a stone in the first few months.