London: In one more reason why you should
keep away from cigarette, scientists have claimed that not
only active smokers, but even those who stop, put on more
weight than non-smokers.
A four-year long study by researchers at the University
of Navarra (UNAV) in Spain found a strong link between
nicotine consumption and weight gain.
"The myth that smoking makes you slimmer is not true and
thus nicotine addiction is not an effective way of preventing
obesity," lead author Francisco Javier Basterra-Gortari said.
"In fact the increase is demonstrated, especially in
ex-smokers and in smokers who continue," he said.
The research focused on link between the two
cardiovascular risk factors: the `nicotine habit` and the
increase in weight when smokers stop the habit and when they
continue smoking.
The results, published in journal `Revista Espanola de
Cardiologia`, are crucial for considering prevention
programmes," Basterra-Gortari said.
The data, resulting from an analysis of 7,565 people, is
based on age, sex, initial body mass index and lifestyles like
changes in physical activity, energy/fibre intake, consumption
of fizzy drinks, fast food and alcohol.
"Weight gain in people who stopped smoking during the
study was higher the more cigarettes they smoked a day when
the investigation began. Those who continued smoking also
gained more weight during this period than the non-smokers,"
they said.
The association between being overweight and nicotine
addiction is especially harmful for cardiovascular health.
Therefore, abandoning the nicotine habit has been linked to a
decrease in the risk of cardiovascular illnesses and cancer.
However, experts argue that weight gain after stopping
smoking is, often, a reason for not quitting the nicotine
addiction, especially among women, Science Blog reported.
Most of the investigations that have studied this link
have observed that, although there is an increase in weight
after stopping smoking, there are notable variations in weight
gain.
PTI