Australia: New Research Shows That Smoking Increases Weight Gain

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 24 Oct 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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Researchers say they have blown away one of the last excuses of smoking, that it keeps them slim.

A study by a team from the universities of New South Wales and Melbourne has found a few cigarettes a day may result in the body storing too much fat, not less.

The research, published in the American Journal of Physiology, exposed mice to cigarette smoke and were fed either a low fat diet or a feast.

The results show smoking mice might have eaten less but they did not lose weight.

Professor of pharmacology at the University of New South Wales Margaret Morris says if it is true, humans who smoke are probably losing muscle and other precious organs, not fat.

She added, "People who quit smoking and then complain that they have actually put on weight probably have because of increased appetite."

Professor Morris said, "In many people and in our animals, cigarette smoke suppresses signals that increase appetite, so the powerful chemical message induced by smoking to suppress feeding and withdrawal of nicotine is unhelpful in that regard."

"So I think the message from this study is that using smoking to suppress body weight gain, if you're overweight, is not going to be helpful."

While the number of people smoking continues to fall, it has been tougher getting the message through to young women.

Professor Morris says although young women might think they look slimmer, they are now being told it is actually muscle not fat they are losing.

"Our work actually points out that this is a very powerful health message, if it's true in humans, then the combination of these two behaviours is very, very unhealthy," she said.

Professor Morris says it is important for more research to be done. "This is a long-term study, we have fed the animals for seven weeks, the smoking was equivalent to moderate cigarette smoking in humans, and we know that they had carboxyhaemoglobin levels in that range."

"So, if we can make the leap into humans, yes, I think it is quite important."

http://www.ash.org.uk