The drop in smoking rates is not to blame for the alarming obesity rates in the U.S., according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smoking cigarettes is the number one cause of preventable death and therefore there have been many anti-smoking campaigns aimed at getting people to quit. Smoking is also associated with lower weight or weight loss, whereas quitting smoking is associated with higher weight or weight gain. The anti-smoking campaigns have resulted in a significant decline in smoking rates, but that is not the cause of higher obesity rates, according to the data collected by the CDC.
Data on current weight and smoking status were taken from a survey done from 1999-2002 and combined with older data in order to assess the impact that declining smoking rates had on obesity for the population. Although smoking cessation was shown to increase weight, this did not have a dramatic effect on the population as a whole. The reason is that smokers are a small percentage of the population, and although their weight gain does slightly increase the obesity rate, it is by less than 1%. The weight gain by smokers is not enough to explain the current high prevalence of obesity in America.
Krystal Wilson is a research intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
See also: "New Drug for Smoking Cessation -- Good News Comes with a Sober Reminder."
