Smoking has long been associated with a trim body. Take a moment and picture Marlene Dietrich, (a young) Marlon Brando, James Dean, or Audrey Hepburn. Odds are you just imagined someone svelte and glamorous, lounging insolently while puffing on a cigarette. In the early days of Hollywood, everyone smoked, and everyone was beautiful. Even today, when we’re well aware of the risks of smoking, dancers and models smoke in an attempt to curb their appetites and stay slim. The truth, then, might surprise you. Cigarette smoking has close ties with obesity.
It is true that in general smokers have a lower body weight, and there is evidence that when someone stops smoking, they tend to gain weight. Nicotine stimulates your metabolism and suppresses appetite, so if someone stops smoking suddenly they might find themselves unusually hungry. It’s also possible that some people who gain weight are just exchanging one craving for another. One study found that people who quit smoking gain an average of 11 or 12 pounds.
However, before you’re tempted to use smoking as a diet aid, you should know that heavy smokers are actually more likely to gain weight while still actively smoking. Recent studies suggest that there might be a genetic link at play. Researchers looked at genetic markers tied to body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight as compared to height), body fat percentage and waist circumference and found that an increase in BMI was associated with increased risk of being a smoker, as well as increased frequency of smoking, meaning the number of cigarettes consumed a day. Among former smokers, those who had once smoked heavily had a greater chance of being obese than light smokers.
The urge to overeat and the urge to smoke heavily may also have common origins. Researchers in Europe have linked certain genetic variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced “snips”), to the likelihood of becoming addicted to both nicotine and food. Of the more than 450,000 people analyzed, every 4.6 kilograms/meter squared that was added to a person’s ideal weight corresponded to a 12 percent higher risk of having been a smoker at some point in the past. This same weight gain was associated with an increase in smoking of 1.75 cigarettes per day.
A genetic profile was compiled in addition to the height and weight data, and looking at these results showed that with each increase in BMI based on SNPs, a person had a 24 percent higher chance of being a current smoker and an 18 percent chance of being a former smoker. Because the genetic profile seemed to have no link to the odds of someone quitting smoking, the researchers believed that it’s a genetic predisposition to body fat that has ties to nicotine cravings, rather than genetically-influenced addictive behavior.
If you or a loved one need help to quit smoking, or with a drug or alcohol problem, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504.
