A new study shows that consuming newer antipsychotic drugs may lead to weight gain in adults.

The study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which focuses on atypical antipsychotics being linked to weight gain in adults.

The findings express concern about giving medicines to patients under 18 years of age. The study's authors recommend child psychiatrists to exercise caution before prescribing it and to monitor patients who take the drugs.

These drugs are powerful and are used for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These drugs are facing severe opposition not only because it causes weight gain but also due to the aggressive marketing strategies by the makers.

The Food and Drug Administration is going to consider approving the use of these drugs for younger patients. Atypical antipsychotics have limited approval for youths but they are free to be prescribed by doctors if they feel it is required for the treatment.

These new drugs were adopted by the psychiatrists because they didn't cause involuntary facial tics and other problems like an earlier generation of medicines did. The sales generated $14.6 billion in the U. S. as per IMS Health.

Christoph Correll, the study's lead author, who is a psychiatrist and a scientist at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N. Y. said, "The weight gain is much larger than we thought, it's massive, and it's the medication that caused it."

The connection has not yet been understood between the weight gain and the drugs. Prescriptions to children have been reduced due to concerns about side effects.

The FDA will soon take a decision on whether to approve younger patient's use of atypical antipsychotic drugs. Currently each drug is FDA-approved for use by adults.