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Smoking Does Not Keep You Slim, Swedish Research Shows

By dsorbello at Dec. 11, 2013, 3:23 a.m., 16973 hits

ScienceDaily (July 12, 2011) — You might think that you will gain weight if you quit smoking. But it's not that simple. A master's thesis from the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV) in Sweden shows that smoking doesn't help you get thinner.

While cigarette smoking has decreased in western countries, obesity has increased. Recent studies have suggested that today's smokers may have less weight problems than non-smokers. “That's why I wanted to study whether the relationship between smoking and overweight has changed over time,” said Lisa Webb, Master of Public Health at NHV.

Approximately 6,000 people have participated in a study on the relationship between smoking and obesity. Two measure of body fat have been used: BMI (body mass index) and WHR (waist hip ratio). The master's thesis “Smoking in the age of obesity: an investigation of secular trends in body fat and cigarette smoking” shows higher WHR for male and female smokers but lower BMI for female smokers, as compared with non-smokers.

A particularly noteworthy finding was that the difference between WHR among female smokers and never-smokers increased during the study.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110704123239.

 
Posts [ 4 ] | Last post Dec. 11, 2013, 3:23 a.m.
#1 - July 21, 2011, 8:49 a.m.
Anonymous

Smoking does not make slim but smoking directly effects on weight.

#2 - July 21, 2011, 4:27 p.m.
MikeMaybury

I'm pleased that scientificstudies do prove useful things from time to time. However old-fashioned common sense is a pretty good guide to most things, including good health.
If you waste your time and money on gatting strange chemicals into your body, as in smoking and drinking (alcohol), you are bound to get consequences, normally bad. Most smokers cough a lot from the very beginning of the habit. It takes a longer time for many other results to be noticeable. Another immediate result is the shortage of money and probably reduction in energy and lung capacity, reducing your ability to exercise properly and take part in sports.

#3 - July 27, 2011, 8:20 a.m.
Erich

There are many health myths that we hold as truth: the last biscuit on the plate contains no calories, my grandfather drank a bottle of whisky every day of his life and died at 101 so alcohol won’t harm me and perhaps the most common is that smoking helps keep you slim so giving up means becoming hugely overweight.

In one of my previous jobs I was Press Officer to Northern Ballet and bizarrely as it seemed to me most of the dancers smoked. You would think needing the best stamina and lung capacity would militate against it but, particularly for the girls, it was seen as an easy way to suppress appetite and control weight.

Now new research from the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV) in Sweden shows that smoking doesn’t help you get thinner, despite what we may believe. While cigarette smoking has decreased in western countries, obesity has increased and recent studies have suggested that today’s smokers may have less weight problems than non-smokers. Lisa Webb, Master of Public Health at NHV, set up a study in which over 6,000 people have participated in a study on the relationship between smoking and obesity.

They used two measure of body fat: BMI (body mass index) and WHR (waist hip ratio) and what surprised them was the definite difference between the results for men and women. Compared with non-smoker, both male and female smokers had a higher WHR but women had a lower BMI.

So if you are looking to use not giving up smoking because you don’t want to put on weight, then that is no longer viable. One other interesting finding was that the difference between the WHR among female smokers and women who had never smoked actually increased during the study. So if you want to improve your waist hip ratio then giving up smoking will definitely improve your chances of that.

#4 - Dec. 11, 2013, 3:23 a.m.
dm88263

i think so smoking effect on our weight

— Last Edited by Devid Martin at 2013-12-11 03:26:36 —