Control of food intake and body weight following smoking cessation in premenopausal women

Abstract

Women experience more weight gain than men postcessation and are more aware of nicotine’s weight suppressing effects than men. Postcessation weight gain in women can be largely accounted for by significant increases in high fat foods from pre- to postcessation. Overeating found in the luteal phase, further compounds the increased caloric intake found postcessation. Few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of smoking cessation on macronutrient content and weight gain; and most have relied on self-report data. This study used the Macronutrient Self-Selection Paradigm (MSSP) and Food Preference Questionnaire (FPQ) to assess food intake in 17 women in the luteal phase from baseline to 2-4 weeks postcessation (17 B2/PC1 subjects) and a subset of 10 women in the luteal phase from baseline to 2-4 weeks to 24 weeks (10 B2/PC1/PC2 subjects) smoking cessation. The 17 B2/PC1 subjects consumed significantly more total kilocalories intake, fat kilocalories intake, kilocalories intake of high fat foods, kilocalories intake of high sugar foods and kilocalories intake of High Fat/ High Sugar foods from baseline to Postcessation 1. The 10 B2/PC1/PC2 subjects yielded marginally nonsignificant results for the variables of total fat kilocalories intake (as compared to other macronutrients/ carbohydrates), total fat kilocalories intake across visits, and fat X carbohydrate across visits. The original sample size consisted of 37 women, however nearly half of the original sample experienced relapse (defined as one or more puffs of a cigarette during the time of the MSSP). These results suggest that an increase in foods high in fat and high in sugar 2-4 weeks postcessation are predominantly responsible for postcessation weight gain. Therefore, smoking cessation programs that are trying to help women maintain their weight should target nutritional advice especially to foods high in fat and sugar and recommend low fat alternatives to minimize weight gain postcessation.