Quitting smoking and losing weight are both extremely difficult

A University of Florida study shows that teenage girls who are attempting to shed pounds by dieting have a statistical probability which makes them twice as likely to take up smoking when compared to other girls who are not on diets. The researchers looked at almost 8,000 young people in the study and they saw that in the vast majority of cases boys did not take up smoking believing that it would help them to eat less. Boys tended to smoke because cigarettes were available rather than because of any other consideration.

What is strange about the link between smoking and dieting is that many people claim that they smoke in order to control their weight somehow arguing that the cigarettes enable them to maintain a healthy weight. What they do not understand is that the smoking does far more damage to their health than putting on weight and also that statistically people who are overweight are in fact more likely to smoke.

Smoking makes people lethargic and less likely to exercise which means that they are more probable to put on pounds in the long term. If people tell you that they smoke in order to control their weight the chances are that they are not being honest with themselves and you should remind them that there is no scientific or other evidence to support their hypothesis.

In some rare cases it can be said that the act of lighting up a cigarette reduces a person’s desire to eat and therefore they do eat less overall. Cigarettes are also known to distract people from overeating as they often light up after a meal and forgo a dessert, but overall the health considerations do not justify smoking at all.

Quitting smoking and losing weight are both extremely difficult and we sympathise with people who find it hard to lose weight and hard to quit smoking however being honest with yourself is the first action you need to take if you are to take control of your eating and smoking habits and the rewards that come with quitting smoking and losing weight are well worth the effort.