Cholesterol-lowering statins appear to be giving patients a licence to overeat.  A study based on ten years of U.S. data shows calorie and fat intake increased among statin users during the decade.

The authors say that’s an indication that many patients might be abandoning heart-healthy lifestyles and assuming that drugs alone will do the trick.

They say the goals of statin treatment should be to help patients achieve benefits unattainable by other methods, “not to empower them to put butter on their steak.”

(The Associated Press)