O besity is a growing public health concern with significant economic burden. In general, someone with a BMI of 25kg/m 2 or over is classed as overweight and with a BMI of 30kg/m 2 or over as obese. A waist circumference of 94cm or over in men and 80cm or over in women carries a high risk for coronary heart disease and the metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of both diabetes and obesity among individuals with schizophrenia and affective disorders is 1.5-2.0 times higher than in the general population. People with mental illness are three times more likely to develop diabetes and twice as likely to die from heart disease. 1 Many characteristics of people with schizophrenia, such as sedentary behaviour, may contribute to the apparently higher prevalence of metabolic abnormalities.With an increasing trend for using atypical antipsychotics (second-generation antipsychotics) over typical antipsychotics (first-generation antipsychotics) for various psychiatric disorders, the adverse effect concern has shifted from extrapyramidal side effects to weight gain and impaired metabolic control. 2 In addition to adversely affecting quality of life and medication adherence, weight gain and metabolic abnormalities are reliable risk factors for premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and diabetes.