A new study published in JAMA Network Open shows that weight gain after failure from tobacco reduces the risk of death, but does not lead to diabetes and heart disease.
Quitting smoking is good for a health day: life becomes longer, the risk of chronic diseases decreases, the quality of life increases. However, quitting tobacco is often accompanied by weight gain. The scientific evidence on how dangerous these extra pounds are for health is still conflicting.
The differences in how much weight people gain after quitting smoking can be significant. Accordingly, the potential health effects may also differ. However, the impact of the degree of weight gain on the health of people in real life has been little studied.
A new study followed 17,000 Australians (average age 43) from 2006 to 2014. Information on smoking and body weight of the participants was updated annually from their words.
On average, participants who quit smoking gained 3.14 kilograms more during the study than those who continued to smoke. Their body mass index also increased more strongly, by about 0.8 units.
Despite gaining weight, people who quit smoking had little to no increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. At the same time, their risk of death from any cause was, on average, two times lower than that of those who continued to smoke. Scientists found that the risk of death was reduced for all groups of quitters: those who lost, gained and retained their previous body weight.
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“The benefits of quitting smoking outweighed the risks when it came to mortality, as the risk of major chronic diseases did not increase despite weight gain and increase in body mass index in quitters,” the study authors wrote in the conclusions.
This Australian study contradicts several other studies, including a 2018 study by American scientists, which concluded that people who quit smoking were more likely to develop diabetes. However, the risk of death from heart disease and any causes was still lower for them than for those who continued the habit.