| Nov 18, 2007 @ 10:48 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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DiamondRain
Posts: 6,354
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Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat?
Study suggests fear of weight gain keeps women puffing away
Is a fear of getting fatter partly to blame for the fact that nearly one in five American women still smoke, and many don’t try to quit?
Although there are many possible reasons for the stubborn persistence of smoking, fear of weight gain is indeed high on the list for many women, says University of Michigan Health System researcher Cindy Pomerleau, Ph.D., who has devoted much of her career to studying this issue.
Several years ago, she and her team reported that 75 percent of all women smokers say they would be unwilling to gain more than five pounds if they were to quit smoking, and nearly half said they would not tolerate any weight gain. In fact, many women started smoking in the first place because they thought it might help them stay slim.
Now, new U-M research findings published in the October issue of Addictive Behaviors show that women who smoke tend to be further from their ideal body image, and more prone to dieting and bingeing, than those who don’t smoke.
Cigarettes are well known to suppress appetite and weight, says Pomerleau, director of the U-M Nicotine Research Laboratory. “So it’s hardly surprising that women who have trouble managing their weight or are dissatisfied with their bodies are drawn to smoking,” she says.
In another recent study, published in August, the U-M team found that overweight women smokers who were fat as children were far more likely to have started smoking in their early teens than women whose weight problems started later in life. They also had worse withdrawal symptoms when they tried to quit.
Once they make a serious attempt to quit, evidence suggests that most weight-concerned smokers can be just as successful in kicking the habit as others.
“The problem here is getting women who are concerned about their weight to be willing to try to make a quit attempt,” says Pomerleau, “and then helping them gain a sense of control over their weight.”
Women who are highly concerned about weight tend to be concerned about other aspects of their appearance as well, she notes. What they need to understand, she says, is that smoking has an impact on many aspects of appearance and attractiveness. Among other things, it causes wrinkled skin, thinning hair, cracked fingernails, yellowed teeth and terrible breath.
Pomerleau, a research professor of psychiatry, is working on a book about women, smoking and weight loss that will draw together research findings, helpful tips and real-life examples of women who quit tobacco while also containing their weight.
Some beliefs about smoking and weight are true, she says. For instance, nicotine suppresses the appetite and increases resting metabolic rate. Smokers on average weigh less than people who have never smoked, and that smokers who quit tend to gain weight. Adding to these perceptions are tobacco advertisements that portray female smokers as slim and successful.
Even so, the effect of quitting on weight is often less dramatic than many women fear, Pomerleau says. A rough rule of thumb is that one in four women who quit smoking will gain less than five pounds, and another two out of four will gain five to 15 pounds. Only one in four women who quit will gain 15 pounds or more.
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| Nov 18, 2007 @ 11:31 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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Loreli
Posts: 25,408
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I would rather do neither.
I do smoke about 5 cigarettes a day, try to maintain around 115, watch both.
Life is about health-either side.
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| Nov 18, 2007 @ 11:40 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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DiamondRain
Posts: 6,354
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Well both obeisity and smoking are some of the worst things for health. But if you were able to pick one (and both of them come from habits that are very difficult to break, so it sure isn't easy to do) I think I'd have to try to kick the smoking and take my chances on the weight part.
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 1:43 AM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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nanakat
Posts: 254
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I have read that quitting smoking actually causes some sort of chemical reaction that causes the weight gain.... the report I read said it's not simply that we chew gum or eat more trying to satisfy some urge. Just wonder if anyone else knows more about this.....
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 4:44 AM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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Always_Striving
Posts: 8,794
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DiamondRain,
I knew about this all along, but I want to add onto this weight control business. Many think that it's cool or in vogue to be seen with a cancer stick hanging out of their mouths.
Guess what? The clothes, car, house and even their own hair and skin stink, stink, stink. Raspy - horse voices that almost sound like a man's voice ain't too attractive either.
How in the world are you ever going to keep up with me, let alone making up to the top of this mountain if your choking for oxygen?
C'mon ladies stop it.
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 2:06 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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dooney123
Posts: 3,511
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DR- it's not very considerate to post this when you know some of the women here are trying to quit smoking. Now you're going to have them thinking they may gain weight when they quit. That's just one more thing to make it harder on them to quit smoking. . 
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 10:03 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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DiamondRain
Posts: 6,354
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@dooney
I have to disagree with you.
Is there anyone who doesn't already know that stopping smoking can lead to weight gain? Or, put the other way, smoking can make you lose weight?
Everyone already knows that, they didn't need the article to learn about it.
But what the article does say is this:
"Women who are highly concerned about weight tend to be concerned about other aspects of their appearance as well, she notes. What they need to understand, she says, is that smoking has an impact on many aspects of appearance and attractiveness. Among other things, it causes wrinkled skin, thinning hair, cracked fingernails, yellowed teeth and terrible breath."
and this...
"Even so, the effect of quitting on weight is often less dramatic than many women fear, Pomerleau says. A rough rule of thumb is that one in four women who quit smoking will gain less than five pounds, and another two out of four will gain five to 15 pounds. Only one in four women who quit will gain 15 pounds or more."
And these things are things that are not often discussed and not widely known. So I think posting them is giving out some good information.
From my perspective, this article supports exactly the opposite of what you suggest and should be helpful to any women who wants to quit smoking.
@Always
LOL! How very true. The thought of kissing someone who smokes? YUKKKKKKKKKKK! I'd much rather kiss my dog on the lips. His breath beats smokers breath every time. And the stink all over everything.... YUKKKKKKK!
I even hate having to sit next to a person who smokes on the train. They stink. I’m sure they aren’t even aware of it.
It's nauseating. No matter how physically attractive a woman is, the moment I realize she is a smoker, I completely lose interest. I think it pretty much the only absolute deal breaker for me.
I sympathize with smokers because I am sure it must be extremely difficult to quit.
Doesn’t make you a bad person, just a person I don‘t want to be anywhere near.
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 10:07 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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candylily
Posts: 1,347
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I've never smoked and I never will but the idea has momentarily crossed my mind when I wished I could lose weight without starving. I know that some lucky women have higher metabolisms than the majority of us but many times, the women who are slimmer than average do smoke. It's usually pretty predictable that when a woman stops smoking and then she gains a few pounds, she goes right back to the cigarettes. I've seen it happen over and over as I'm sure everyone else has.
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 10:14 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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DiamondRain
Posts: 6,354
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I believe it. If you think skinnier is more attractive, and there is a habit which is hard to quit to begin with, and on top of that it make you skinnier, it must create an incredibly difficult cycle to break.
In that respect it must be even harder for women to quit than men since being skinnier is more of a body image issue for women than men.
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 10:28 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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Always_Striving
Posts: 8,794
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^ Yup
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| Nov 19, 2007 @ 10:43 PM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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DiamondRain
Posts: 6,354
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You know there are a lot of things in life that are really horrible, but you can’t do anything about them.
The really REALLY good news is that both smoking and weight are two things that are completely under your control. You can do something about both of them.
So, as bad as it is, it’s not as bad as having a problem you cannot do anything about.
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| Dec 2, 2007 @ 3:07 AM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES! |
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nanakat
Posts: 254
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I have smoked for 30 years....and have no intention to give it up. It's not about metabolism or weight gain....it's about choice. And this is still America, isn't it, where we have freedom of choice?
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| Dec 2, 2007 @ 9:23 AM |
Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? -- YIKES!
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lell
Posts: 1,458
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Yes its definatley a matter of choise, its ike any other drug addiction, until a person chooses to stop smoking for themselves it wont work. And I really dont think a little weight gain would make the slightest bit of difference if they have made their minds up to quit. There are ways of minimising the weight gain and the thought of a few pounds that can be lost at a later date is nothing compared with the benefits of stoping smoking - now where did I put that gum!! 
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