Just How Much Weight Do You Gain When You Stop Smoking?



sharma-obesity-smoking-cigarette1The fact that smoking cessation is almost regularly associated with weight gain is common knowledge. But just how much weight can one expect to gain?

Now,  an analysis from a large randomised controlled trial of smoking cessation by Charles Courtemanche and colleagues published for the National Bureau of Economic Research, that this weight gain may be more that most people think.

The researchers look at data from well over 5,000 participants in the Lung Health Study.

Using various statistical models, they conclude that the average weight gain is about 12 pounds, with the effect being greatest in the young, women and those starting out with a ‘normal’ weight.

They also calculate that the reduction in smoking over the past decades accounts for about 15% of the obesity epidemic.

From the longitudinal analysis they also conclude that the weight gain is not temporary nor likely reversible. If anything, the impact of smoking cessation on weight becomes greater as time passes.

Thus, while the authors remind us that the benefits of smoking cessation on health still by far outweigh any health detriments from a 12 lb weight gain.

Nevertheless, the data should remind us that smoking cessations efforts should always go hand in hand with efforts to prevent excessive weight gain.

@DrSharma
Gurgaon, Haryana