The smoking gun

Quitting is the single best thing you can do to improve your health, but many smokers use the “smokers’ excuse” that any benefit of quitting would be offset by the weight gained. Research shows this excuse to be untrue.

Most healthcare providers agree that the decrease in morbidity and mortality associated with stopping smoking far outweighs the health risks associated with potential weight gain after quitting. Increasing evidence shows that smoking affects body fat distribution and is associated with central obesity and a decrease in the effectiveness of insulin in lowering the blood sugar levels (insulin resistance).

Smokers have a higher percentage of fat around the body’s organs compared to total fat and consequently a higher waist-to-hip ratio than non-smokers – a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the short term, nicotine increases energy expenditure (metabolic rate), which makes the body burn calories faster, and can also reduce the appetite (appetite suppressant). This may explain why smokers tend to have a lower body weight than non-smokers and why stopping smoking is frequently followed by weight gain.

However, in contrast, heavy smokers tend to have a greater body weight than do light smokers or non-smokers. This is likely to reflect their low degree of physical activity, poor diet and smoking – all conducive to weight gain. Weight gain after quitting could be prevented with dietary intervention and programmes aimed at increasing physical activity in combination with dietary management and nicotine replacement therapy.

Being healthy is a lot more than how much you weigh. Improved lung function and other health benefits of giving up smoking are likely to make exercise both easier and more beneficial.