One of the main long-term health benefits of quitting smoking is lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke. Hardening and narrowing of the arteries is accelerated by smoking. Quitting smoking is better for the heart, even with the weight gain associated with kicking the habit.
A recent study is the first to directly address the health impact of the weight gain that people experience following giving up cigarettes. The study finds that former smokers cut their risk of developing heart disease by half.
Findings from the study were published on March 13 in the Laboratory for Metabolic and Population Health.
"Our findings suggest that a modest weight gain, around 5-10 pounds, has a negligible effect on the net benefit of quitting smoking. Being able to quantify to some degree the relationship between the benefits and side effects of smoking cessation can help in counseling those who have quit or are thinking about quitting," said study co-author Caroline Fox, M.D., M.P.H., senior investigator in the Laboratory for Metabolic and Population Health at the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
The team analyzed the data of 3,251 participants in the NHBI's Framingham Heart Study between 1984 and 2011. They received periodic medical exams over the course of the study and were divided into the following categories: diabetics and non-diabetics, smokers and non-smokers, recent quitters of less than four years and long-term quitters for over four years. Coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure occurrences were examined among the individuals. Non-smokers had one-third as much risk to heart disease as smokers.
Weight gain is an inevitable side effect of kicking the habit and researchers say the improved health benefits are more important. Nicotine raises the metabolic rate and is an appetite suppressant. When a person quits, it's not uncommon for them to crave more food. The senses of taste and smell are also heightened.
"If you're keen to quit smoking but worried about putting on weight, using smoking cessation aids such as inhalators, gum or lozenges may help you resist the temptation to reach for comfort food in the place of a cigarette," said Dorieann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation.
Smoking is also a soothing activity for people who experience feelings of shyness or anxiety. Former smokers may turn to salty, sweet or fattening snacks as a substitute for the missing physical and emotional comfort.
