Bupropion for weight loss (Wellbutrin, Zyban)

What is bupropion used for?

Bupropion, a prescription medication, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of:¹

• Smoking cessation
• Seasonal affective disorder
• Depression in adults

Doctors may also prescribe it off-label for bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anti-depressant-induced sexual dysfunction, and weight loss.¹ However, taking bupropion for weight loss can be risky and may be a sign of an underlying eating disorder.

What are the risks of using bupropion for weight loss?

People are increasingly using bupropion for weight loss, which, when done without medical supervision, can contribute to disordered eating behavior. Sometimes individuals are prescribed Wellbutrin for binge eating disorder (BED), a condition characterized by uncontrollable episodes of food consumption. That said, bupropion doesn’t actually treat the underlying issues that cause binge eating disorder or the behaviors that reinforce BED—it is only targeted toward weight loss.³

However, many people who struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating behaviors misuse this medication in order to suppress their appetite, restrict their eating, and lose weight.⁴ This can be dangerous, especially for people who have bulimia nervosa, who may engage in purging behaviors, because purging, on its own, can lead to electrolyte disturbances and seizures, and Wellbutrin lowers the seizure threshold.⁵

Bupropion side effects and health risks

Like most medications, bupropion can cause many side effects and health risks, such as:^1,2

• Tremors
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Sleep disturbances
• Nervousness
• Constipation
• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Confusion
• Delusions
• Psychosis
• Hallucinations
• Paranoia
• Rapid heart rate
• Dizziness
• Excessive sweating
• Blurred vision

Using bupropion for weight loss when an eating disorder exists can increase the risk of adverse health effects, especially seizures.⁵

Can you overdose on bupropion?

It is possible to overdose on bupropion, especially in cases of misuse. When someone overdoses on Wellbutrin, they may experience a seizure, which occurs in about 33% of overdoses.¹

Other signs of a bupropion overdose include:¹

• Agitation
• Mental status changes
• Hallucinations
• Cardiac arrhythmia

Wellbutrin can cause stimulant-like effects, which means chronic use can be risky and increase the likelihood of an overdose as well.⁶

If you suspect that someone has overdosed on Wellbutrin, call 911 immediately and stay by the person’s side.

Understanding bupropion and eating disorders

Using bupropion to lose weight could be indicative of disordered eating, especially when other abnormal eating behaviors are present. In fact, using medications like Wellbutrin for weight control significantly increases the risk of being diagnosed with an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN).⁷

In one study, a woman with bulimia nervosa reportedly misused Wellbutrin to control her weight and experienced anxiety, insomnia, tachycardia, and grand mal seizures. She eventually needed to seek inpatient treatment for her compulsive pattern of bupropion abuse, which was likely used as a compensatory mechanism for binging behaviors.⁴

Diet culture is popularizing weight loss drugs

Weight loss drugs, like bupropion, are popular because of diet culture, which is responsible for many of the harmful and critical ideas we have about our bodies, our weight, and our self-worth. Diet culture communicates to us that there is an “ideal” body type, and it causes many people to engage in disordered eating behaviors in attempts to achieve this false ideal. But there is no “ideal” body type, and people can live healthily at different weights. 

Unfortunately, diet culture is everywhere around us and it can be difficult to know what’s healthy and what’s not anymore. Diet culture hijacks our innate ability to recognize and respond to hunger and satiety signals, instead telling us that certain foods are “good” while others are “bad” and that being thin is more important than being healthy and happy.