SMOKING AND WEIGHT GAIN

The two main causes of weight gain when quitting smoking are:

1) Eating more food:

 Many smokers find their eating habits change when they quit cigarettes. Some people experience increased hunger as a withdrawal symptom, but research suggests their eating patterns eventually return to normal.

2) The effect of nicotine on the body:

Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco that causes smokers to continue their habit. Although nicotine isn’t thought to cause cancer, it does speed up the body’s food processing system, the metabolism. After many years of smoking, smokers tend to weigh slightly less than non-smokers.

The average weight gain is between five to six kilograms in the first year after stopping smoking. Research shows that in the long term, the average body weight of ex-smokers is similar to people who have never smoked.
Smoking appears to change the distribution of fat in women to a less healthy male ‘apple’ pattern. Women who smoke tend to put on more fat around their waist compared to women who do not smoke. Fat in this area is associated with risks such as stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and a general increased death rate.
When women quit smoking, any weight gain that occurs is in the normal and safer female pattern, with a preference to the hips rather than the waist.
The best approach is to focus on strategies to keep healthy rather than on weight control. These include making realistic goals for healthy eating, getting regular exercise and getting enough sleep. These strategies can also help minimize weight gain. However, it can be helpful to be prepared to accept at least a small increase in weight.
It can be difficult to quit cigarettes and manage weight at the same time, because both activities require effort and commitment. If this is the case for you, concentrate first on quitting. See your doctor or dietitian for further information and advice if weight gain is a problem.

If you put on weight after quitting smoking:

If you’ve gained weight despite your best efforts, don’t despair. A few extra kilograms are a much lower risk compared to the risk of continuing to smoke. You would have to gain over 40 kilograms above your recommended weight to equal the risk of heart disease posed by smoking.
Don’t think that taking up smoking again will mean you will shed the weight – sometimes it doesn’t. Concentrate on improving your diet and increasing your physical activity. See your doctor or dietitian for help and advice.

Things to remember:

• About 80 per cent of smokers put on weight after they quit.
• The causes of weight gain may include the effect of nicotine on the body, and the ex-smoker’s inclination to eat more food.
• You would have to gain over 40 kilograms above your recommended weight to equal the risk of heart disease posed by smoking.

REFRENCE:
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Smoking_weight_gain_and_quitting