Volume of cigarettes links to how heavy smokers gain weight after quitting

The volume of cigarettes during smoking habits can affect the amount of weight quitters stand to gain, researchers suggest. Heavy smokers and obese smokers are more likely to increase body mass than light to moderate smokers after quitting.

Researchers of the study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, compared the weight gain for non-smokers, continuing smokers and smokers who quit over a 10-year period. Smokers who were obese prior to quitting were the primary concern in the study.

Although the average weight for all groups had increased after 10 years, the amount of weight gain of those who had a body mass index of 30 or more before quitting and those who smoked 25 or more cigarettes per day were substantial.

Smokers of 25 or more cigarettes per day gained 23 pounds of smoking cessation-attributable weight gain, and those who were already obese before giving up reported 16 pounds of weight gain over the 10-year period. The finding came from the analysis of data from 12,204 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to figure out how personal factors might contribute to weight gain after quitting, researchers at Penn State University in the US said.

“People tend to put on some weight over time and everyone in the study gained weight. The non-smokers gained about a pound a year for 10 years,” said Susan Veldheer, a registered dietician in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, and lead author of the study.

However, for smokers of less than than 15 cigarettes a day, there was no significant difference in weight gain between those who quit smoking and those who continued within the 10-year period. This shows that the light to moderate smokers are far from the risk to experience the impact of gaining more weight after quitting smoking.

Many smokers are concerned about gaining weight after quitting smoking, Veldheer said, which could be a barrier for them to consider whether or not to make a quit attempt. The findings of the study could help to easily identify smokers who may gain more weight when they quit, and for experts to tailor the treatment plan for the patients. But the factors that could help predict the amount of weight a smoker may gain are not well understood.

However, the researchers suggest for heavy smokers and obese smokers to quit smoking while making other healthy lifestyle changes to control their weight. “Although this may seem like a lot of weight, it is important for all smokers to remember that quitting smoking is the single most important thing they can do for their health,” Veldheer stated.

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