Why Quitting Smoking Causes Weight Gain

WASHINGTON -- Scientists say they've finally discovered why smokers tend to gain some weight when they kick the habit.

It turns out that nicotine can rev up brain cells that normally signal people to stop eating when they're full, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

The weight connection isn't huge: On average, quitters gain less than 10 pounds. Still, it's a worry that many smokers cite when asked why they don't try to quit. Now the question is whether the discovery might lead to better treatments to help them quit without worrying about weight.

Yale University associate research scientist Yann Mineur stumbled onto the connection while studying a nicotine-related substance in mice – and the animals suddenly started eating less.

Nicotine hooks onto a variety of receptors, or docking sites, on the surface of cells. That's how it triggers addiction in one part of the brain.

But when it comes to weight, the Yale research found that both nicotine and the related drug cytisine were activating a different receptor than the one involved in addiction. This one is located on a small set of neurons in the hypothalamus, a region that regulates appetite.

When they gave nicotine to mice without that cellular pathway, it didn't help them lose weight like it did normal mice.

Smoking causes cancer, heart attacks and a host of other ailments so worry about modest weight gain shouldn't deter someone from quitting. But smokers who do have that concern should try nicotine-based smoking-cessation treatments, said study senior author Marina Picciotto, a Yale professor of psychiatry and neurobiology.

The other drug used in the mouse experiments, cytisine, is sold in Eastern Europe for smoking cessation but not in the U.S., and she'd like to see if there's data on the weight of smokers abroad who've used it.

Developing a drug to target only these specific receptors would be difficult, she cautions, because they're also involved in the body's stress responses in ways that could lead to such side effects as high blood pressure.

WATCH:

Scientist Determine Link Between Smoking and Weight Loss

Comments

[Tracy Chabala]

02:18 AM on 07/07/2011

(Part 2 of 2)

Use a 12-Step program if need be. Or those pesky classes offered by your health insurance company. Ha ha. Sure, they're providing them to save a buck on your medical treatment, but who cares! It'll save your life.

Also: SPEND the $$$$ you save on YOURSELF after you quit. Buy something or start a new hobby or something that supports and rewards your achievement. And NOT FOOD.

I treated myself to three belly-dancing classes a week and a bunch of costumes and all sorts of veils, which is something I loved but could never afford. Sure I'm blowing $200 on stuff my parents would think is a waste, but I'm sure they'd rather see me breathe easy and live long! This killed TWO birds with one stone! Exercise + Reward.

Some of you vain people can buy yourselves expensive facials or moisturizers for your skin, which reaffirms your decision to reverse the premature aging process of smoking.

Perhaps you want to join an exclusive gym with the $200 you are saving a month. Or start horseback riding, or buy some ski stuff. Maybe you want to start harvesting fruits and veggies, so you go buy a big chunk of land.

Who knows.

Whatever you do, don't save the money. Reward yourself!

[Tracy Chabala]

02:17 AM on 07/07/2011

(Part 1 of 2)

It's all pretty simple in my book...Nicotine is a stimulant, like amphetamines or caffeine or cocaine, yada yada. This does two things: increases metabolism while suppressing appetite. So, you quit the smokes, your metabolism slows and you get a normal appetite back. Throw in some compulsive and superfluous and emotional eating that usually accompanies the big psychological (and even physiological) withdrawal and you've got a THREE-FOLD problem, or potential problem, in regards to weight gain.

So.

I am off 45 days. I gained five pounds and am not happy about it. But I consider myself very very fortunate that it's not more than that!

The first month was the hardest. I used bupropion (generic for Wellbutrin/Chantix), which works to boost dopamine, the neurotransmitter that's depleted by nicotine withdrawal, along with hypnosis, exercise, and a few desperate prayers.

And of course, the old adage 'one day at a time'.

I had to keep on thinking (and repeating out loud): "Lesser of two evils, lesser of two evils, LESSER of TWO EVILS!!!" (COPD, Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, ad infinitum, vs. being chubbier.)

So.

I think it's really important to demystify this whole weight gain thing. It happens. Take it easy, a few simply lifestyle changes like 30 minutes of exercise a day and lots of water can really help.

Attack the addiction from multiple angles. I was desperate. I used everything.

(See next post, post # 2.)

[William Anderson LMHC]

10:09 PM on 06/14/2011

Quitting smoking needn't lead to a weight gain. In my case, quitting smoking was my first step in changing my unhealthy habits, and the behavioral science I studied to get control of the smoking addiction led me to discover Therapeutic Psychogenics, with which I permanently lost 140 lbs.. I am now a professional in Behavioral Medicine and I teach other clinicians as well as my own clients. Don't let fear of weight gain keep you from quitting smoking, and don't let quitting smoking be an excuse for a weight gain. You can improve all your health habits. A suggestion: Quit the smoking first. Don't try to change both at once.

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com
http://theandersonmethodblog.wordpress.com/

[Laura Walker]

02:06 AM on 06/13/2011

I smoked for 30 years. I quit when I saw my friend with lung cancer go through chemo and radiation with a fairly good prognosis but could still not bring herself to quit. You know how much a of a grip they must have on a person when they are literally surpressing their immune system with chemo and starving themselves to near death with esophogeal burning making eating difficult due radiation, but yet they still painfully suck on a cig..... Cigarettes make you a weak person and you will never know how weak and addicted you really were on them until you successfully quit. Until then you only think it is your decision to continue smoking. The confirmation you are right - it is a choice - that only comes when you can put them down.

I am ten months smoke-free.......and I only WISH it was a mere 10 pounds. But..one day and personal issue at a time.......lol....

[stape45]

10:17 AM on 06/13/2011

Congrats to you.

[50PlusSam]

03:40 AM on 06/12/2011

Quitting smoking causes a change in metabolism and therefore obesity. Everyone who stopped smoking knows that the digestive system/excretion change its habits which sometimes causes constipation.
http://www.lifestyle-after50.com/health.html

[LukeTunyich]

10:43 AM on 06/13/2011

It seems like a new theory.

The theory that quitting smoking causes obesity or weight gain is wrong. But before further discussions about that theory, it will be necessary to know who created that theory.

Please, can you tell who created this theory?

I have pointed many times that until recently the scientific establishment on obesity didn’t know that some amount of food intake leaves the body as a metabolic waste.
http://www.biomechanicsandhealth.com/calories.htm

Until recently, the scientific establishment on obesity thought that every calorie that enters the body if not spent will be converted into fat mass. Namely, they didn’t know that stool contains calories.

If you or anybody else thinks that I am wrong, please let me know.

[jf12]

07:26 PM on 06/11/2011

Nicotine also speeds up smooth muscles, increasing blood pressure and facilitating bowel movement. The combination of metabolism increase and faster elimination is of the same order of magnitude of calories as the appetite thing.

[LukeTunyich]

10:55 AM on 06/13/2011

It is another new theory.

I already replied to the theory posted by 50PlusSam, and the same applies to this theory posted by you.

If you think that I am wrong, please let me know.

[OverseasVet]

02:02 PM on 06/11/2011

Smokers use nicotine to help calm themselves. The more agitated the more cigarettes are smoked. Without the cigarettes the agitation is worse. Eating food has always been a comforting thing. Its not rocket science.

[VJSleight]

06:55 PM on 06/11/2011

Nicotine is actually a stimulant, so when smokers say that smoking calms them down, what they are really saying is "If I don't smoke, I start going through withdrawals". The "calming" effect is the flood of dopamine--the "I feel good" neurotransmitter in the brain. People who quit actually feel less stress after they have quit and the withdrawal period is over.
www.stopsmokingstayquit.blogspot.com

[ms ariz]

05:58 PM on 06/15/2011

Being a smoker and having worked in many stressful jobs - as a waitress, the Army, the medical field - I can honestly tell you it's not the nicotine.

It's your mind telling you to slow down, take a break, just relax and walk away for a moment. From there you light a cigarette, breathe deeply and let your body relax. Both smokers and non-smokers basically do the same thing, however, smokers walk away and say, "I need a cigarette." whereas - usually - a non-smoker says, "I need a drink."

Both are stimulants but both calm the individual down. Mentally and physically. With the smoker, they breathe in and out. With the drinker, they numb their brain.

So I disagree with the "If I don't smoke, I start going through withdrawal­s" statement. I have never thought that. I think, "I need a break to calm down." Sure there are other ways to calm down, but for those of us who do not WANT to quit or be lectured on why we SHOULD quit, it works for us.

[CAELadyJane50]

07:59 PM on 06/10/2011

This article says smokers usually gain no more than ten pounds after they quit smoking; I wonder what the time frame was for this conclusion after quitting? What about the effect of nicotine gum or the nicotine patches on people's weight?

[Victoria Cianci Cipullo]

08:52 PM on 06/10/2011

I gained 10 lbs after stopping and still trying to get it off.

[sensimilla]

06:41 PM on 06/10/2011

best answer? because you have nothing to do with your hands & mouth, you instead use them to shovel food in your mouth. Seriously..

[ms ariz]

08:36 PM on 06/11/2011

Exactly. Plus it makes food taste better so, of course, they eat more. My theory is that all the obese people are non-smokers! LOL!

[TSRVT]

03:31 PM on 06/10/2011

Because food tastes good again, not like something marinated in a wet ashtray?

[Victoria Cianci Cipullo]

08:54 PM on 06/10/2011

True! Love to eat

[ms ariz]

08:37 PM on 06/11/2011

I agree. But luckily for me, I eat to live. :)~

[Euglena Vorticella]

03:22 PM on 06/10/2011

It's cause you EAT MORE!

[ms ariz]

02:39 PM on 06/10/2011

People talk about "excuses" for not quitting; how's this one: I enjoy it! Yes, it's bad for me and yes, I know I COULD get lung cancer, but it's MY choice and no one else. I'm sick and tired of strangers telling me I SHOULDN'T smoke. Number one: no one has the right to tell ANYONE what they should or should not do. You're not my family or friends and you don't care about my health. You just feel you have the "right" to tell someone how they should live their lives.

How would you like it if I went up to you in a restaurant and told you eating that 5000 calorie sandwich will give you diabetes eventually and maybe even a heart attack? Should I go to the bar and tell people as they're leaving that they shouldn't drive because they could KILL someone if they drive?

Actually, I'd LOVE it if the police were there at the bar arresting individuals who try to drive drunk.

There are worse things we do to our bodies. Over-eating is one and 2/3 of Americans are obese. But no one says anything to them, do they? "Hey, buddy! You're fat and you're going to die soon!" Heart disease id the number one killer and over-eating and not exercising is the major factors.

One other thing, did you know that for every gallon of gas you use, 8 POUNDS of toxic chemicals spew out of your exhaust?

[Victoria Cianci Cipullo]

09:09 PM on 06/10/2011

Yes, you are right! I don't smoke anymore, Butttt I loved my butts....I wish people would stop telling people who smoke how bad it is for you....I feel when a person is ready to quit they will.

[SnootMama]

07:52 AM on 06/11/2011

Good for you for being honest. I, too, like smoking. I'm not obese, I'm a very light drinker and I don't do any drugs. I work in a call center. Call centers are notorious for obese people. Most of the women my age are HUGE because they just sit at their desks on break. I have to get up and walk outside to smoke. Making smokers go outside is the best thing society ever did for us. I at least get up and walk and I get fresh air. So, I'll keep my cigarettes and my size 10s and my non smoking friends can keep their pop and twinkies and their size 22s and we'll all be happy!

[Iatros78]

11:25 AM on 06/11/2011

So you get up to go outside to smoke and "get fresh air"? Don't you think the toxic, carcinogenic smoke you are inhlaing into your lungs cancels out the "fresh air"? Also, when you say you "don't do any drugs" you forgot to include nicotine.

[ms ariz]

07:44 PM on 06/11/2011

Thanks so much! {hugs} It's so hard to be a smoker nowadays because of all the crap we get from people who have nothing better to do than to butt {heh heh} into other people's lives and dictate how we should live - or how we treat our bodies. At least I can still drive a car after a pack of cigarettes. :)~

And yes, I worked at call centers for over 7 years and I know how stressful they are. I also worked in the hospitality industry for years and many were smokers as well.

I always joke that others can go to their 'comfort food' .. and I'll go to my 'comfort cigarette' any day! LOL!

[Trauma213]

02:38 PM on 06/10/2011

yes but why do you lose weight when you smoke weed regularly?

[VJSleight]

03:05 PM on 06/10/2011

Marijuana doesn't contain nicotine.
www.stopsmokingstayquit.blogspot.com

[nutmeg17]

07:01 AM on 06/11/2011

I wish! The main reason I gave up weed is because the "munchies" led to voracious eating, and consequent weight gain.

[ms ariz]

08:38 PM on 06/11/2011

LOL! Good one!

[Shirley Fisk]

02:34 PM on 06/10/2011

6/10/11
2:34pm
Washington, DC

Great. I don't smoke very much so I'm just going to keep my dirty little habit a while longer.

[satyamg]

01:59 PM on 06/10/2011

I read someplace that the cigarete manufacturers put a little sugar in cigaretes. One craves sugar after quitting ( it can also be in the form of carbohydraes). It was suggested that one cary a pincture bottle of sugar and put some on the tongue whenever a craving strikes.

Also try sugar free candy or gum..

It has to so with the sugar craving during nicotine withdrawl