After the Addiction, a Matter of Weight

November 30, 1998

VITAL SIGNS: SIDE EFFECTS

After the Addiction, a Matter of Weight

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Expanded Coverage of Science and Health

By JOHN O' NEIL

he longest large study to date on weight gain after quitting smoking has underscored what many researchers consider one of the toughest obstacles facing smokers who want to stop.
The Lung Health Study, which tracked 5,887 smokers, found that those who quit put on substantially more weight in the years after they kicked the habit -- 17 pounds for men and 19 pounds for women -- than earlier, shorter studies had indicated. The results were published last month in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The first year is the worst. Of those who quit and stayed off tobacco, average weight gain was 10.7 pounds for men and 11.4 pounds for women.
The heaviest smokers had the biggest weight gains, the researchers found.
Dr. Peggy O'Hare, a professor of public health and education at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and the lead researcher, said in an interview that she did not view the results as simply more bad news about the difficulties of quitting.
"Smokers already know this. Ex-smokers know this. I'm an ex-smoker, and I know this," she said. "I see the point as a message to physicians and agencies that work with smoking cessation about the need for a total approach to quitting, for a plan that includes physical activity and diet control."

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