Smoking cessation and severity of weight gain in a national cohort

Article Abstract:

Although the adverse health effects of smoking are well known, about one out of four Americans continues to smoke. Quitting is more difficult because the disadvantages of quitting are immediately obvious, but the advantages are hard to measure because they consist largely of what does not happen, including coronary artery disease or lung cancer. One disadvantage may be especially problematic: weight gain after quitting. The effects of quitting smoking on weight gain have never been accurately studied over a long period. To overcome the limitations of previous studies, 9,332 subjects from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I), begun in 1971-1975, were interviewed 10 years later. The average weight gain for those who stopped smoking was just over six pounds for men, and over eight pounds for women, but almost 10 percent of the men and over 13 percent of the women who quit gained about 30 pounds. However, by the end of the study, the average body weight of those who had quit had reached the average weight of those who had never smoked. Long-term studies have found the rate of weight increase decreases over time. Because weight gain levels off to about the same level as the weight of nonsmokers, smoking may lower weight. The risk of weight gain was greater for women, especially those who were previously underweight and led sedentary lives. Blacks of either sex had a much greater risk of weight gain when they quit smoking, but for those who had never smoked, or were former or continuing smokers, there was no racial effect on weight gain. Weight gain from quitting smoking may partly offset the health benefits, especially among women who gained more than 20 pounds, but the risks of coronary heart disease, lung and circulatory disease, and cancer far outweigh the adverse effects of the weight gain. Excessive weight gain may induce former smokers to begin smoking again, and current smokers not to quit. Those who counsel smokers should stress that the average weight gain is not necessarily gain but rather restoration of normal weight, in many cases, and that the health benefits outweigh the disadvantages. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Physiological aspects, Obesity, Information services, Smoking cessation programs, Smoking cessation, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

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Unintended Pregnancy Among Adult Women Exposed to Abuse or Household Dysfunction During Their Childhood

Article Abstract:

Women who were abused as children or who witnessed family violence may be more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy. In a study of 1,193 women who had been pregnant, 45% said the pregnancy had not been planned. Sixty-six percent said they had been exposed to two or more types of family violence as children. Women who were exposed to family violence were more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy than other women.

United States, Health aspects, Risk factors, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Family violence, Domestic violence

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