Quitting smoking does not necessarily mean a large increase in weight

Many people put off quitting because they are worried about weight gain. Not only want to avoid having to buy bigger pants, they also believe that the books would be worse for your health than smoking. The good news is that quitting smoking does not necessarily mean a larger size.

Several studies confirm that, when comparing the health effects of tobacco consumption with weight gain, is much better for your health to quit. A few extra pounds will not harm your health as smoking will. For example, quitting smoking reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, independently of any subsequent decision weight. Researchers say resigned earning some books still have a risk about 50% less heart disease than smokers. 

The same reduction in risk applies to people with diabetes. This is surprising, since weight gain can worsen diabetes - which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease on their own.Usually people gain 5-10 pounds in the six months after leaving. But what happens during the next 10 years? To answer this question, researchers from Penn State Faculty of Medicine used data collected from the long-term Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) National Health and.

Weight gain during 10 years in the three groups of people watched: recently arrested who had been heavy smokers, former smokers who Recent were light smokers, and continue smoking. They also looked at whether the weight of a person's body when he or she resigned made a difference in the extra pounds during the next decade. 

All smokers who quit smoking gained an average of 18 pounds over 10 years. Those who continued smoking also gained weight over the long term - eight pounds on average. Thus, the average amount of weight gain associated with stopping was 10 books in 10 years. This does not mean much more than the initial weight gain in the first six months after stopping.Interestingly, former smokers who were light smokers (those of 1-14 cigarettes per day) had a similar increase in long-term weight than those who continued to smoke. 

However, quitting smoking who were heavy smokers (those over 24 cigarettes per day) to significantly more weight than all continue to smoke or quit smoking light.The body weight at the time of quitting smoking also makes a difference. In this study, people who were obese at the time of quitting smoking were more likely to get the most weight after quitting. 

If you are a smoker and want to quit, you may want to have a plan to maintain the potential gain weight under control. Start a new exercise program before leaving. If you are overweight, and now change your diet to eat healthier and reduce total daily calories. Make these healthy changes before quitting smoking can help reduce weight gain.
By: Howard LeWine, M.D.