Journal Article

Smoking cessation and severity of weight gain in a national cohort

Kleinman, J.C, Byers, T, Williamson, D.F. (Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta), Giovino, G.A, Anda, R.F, Madans, J

1991

Overview

Background. Many believe that the prospect of weight gain discourages smokers from quitting. Accurate estimates of the weight gain related to the cessation of smoking in the general population are not available, however. Methods. We related changes in body weight to changes in smoking status in adults 25 to 74 years of age who were weighed in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I, 1971 to 1975) and then weighed a second time in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (1982 to 1984). The cohort included continuing smokers (748 men and 1137 women) and those who had quit smoking for a year or more (409 men and 359 women). Results. The mean weight gain attributable to the cessation of smoking, as adjusted for age, race, level of education, alcohol use, illnesses related to change in weight, base-line weight, and physical activity, was 2.8 kg in men and 3.8 kg in women. Major weight gain (13 kg) occurred in 9.8 percent of the men and 13.4 percent of the women who quit smoking. The relative risk of major weight gain in those who quit smoking (as compared with those who continued to smoke) was 8.1 (95 percent confidence interval, 4.4 to 14.9) in men and 5.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 3.7 to 9.1) in women, and it remained high regardless of the duration of cessation. For both sexes, blacks, people under the age of 55, and people who smoked 15 cigarettes or more per day were at higher risk of major weight gain after quitting smoking. Although at base line the smokers weighed less than those who had never smoked, they weighed nearly the same at follow-up. Conclusions. Major weight gain is strongly related to smoking cessation, but it occurs in only a minority of those who stop smoking. Weight gain is not likely to negate the health benefits of smoking cessation, but its cosmetic effects may interfere with attempts to quit. Effective methods of weight control are therefore needed for smokers trying to quit

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Adult / ADULTE / ADULTOS / adults / Aged / Biological and medical sciences / Blacks / Body Mass Index / Body weight / Body weight gain / Cardiovascular disease / Cigarettes / Cohort Studies / dietary surveys / Drug addiction / EDUCACION / EDUCATION / ENCUESTAS NUTRICIONALES / ENQUETE NUTRITIONNELLE / Epidemiology / ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA / ETATS UNIS / Female / FEMME / Follow-Up Studies / GAIN DE POIDS / GANANCIA DE PESO / gender differences / GROUPE ETHNIQUE / GRUPOS ETNICOS / Health risk assessment / Health Surveys / HOMBRES / HOMME / Humans / Male / Medical research / Medical sciences / men / Middle Aged / MUJERES / National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / nationalities and ethnic groups / Nutrition Surveys / Odds Ratio / Parity / PESO / Physical activity / POIDS / Pregnancy / prevention & control / Prospective Studies / Regression Analysis / Sex Characteristics / SEXE / SEXO / Smoke / Smoking / smoking (habit) / Smoking - epidemiology / Smoking cessation / Smoking Prevention / Studies / TABAC / TABACO / Tobacco, tobacco smoking / Toxicology / United States / United States - epidemiology / Weight Gain / Whites / women / Womens health