Obese heavy smokers may gain more weight after quitting smoking: study

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Heavy smokers who are also obese will gain more weight when they quit smoking, according to new research.

A study published in International Journal of Obesity in July looked at the effects of quitting tobacco. Heavy smokers or those who smoked more than 25 cigarettes a day and obese people who had a BMI of 30 above will gain more weight than light to moderate smokers.

For the study, researchers looked at data from 2003 to 2012 from more than 12,000 people aged 36 above who participated in the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

According to Daily Mail, heavy smokers will likely gain around 23 pounds (10.4 kg) after quitting while obese smokers will reportedly be 16 pounds (7.2 kg) heavier after kicking the habit. For light to moderate smokers, however, there isn't much weight gain should they decide to quit smoking or continue.

"Many smokers are concerned about gaining weight after quitting smoking and this can be a barrier for them when they are considering whether or not to make a quit attempt," said Susan Veldheer of Penn State College Medicine in a press release posted in the school's website. "Being able to easily identify smokers who may gain more weight when they quit is important so that we can work with patients to tailor their treatment plan."

This research is important as it can help determine which smokers are prone to weight gain, and so that health professionals can create a treatment plan to veer them back to healthier living.

For heavy and obese smokers, Veldheer said that they should focus more on quitting the habit but also make conscious healthy eating and other lifestyle changes to make sure that their weight doesn't increase too much.

"It is important for all smokers to remember that quitting smoking is the single most important thing they can do for their health," Veldheer said in the report by Medical Daily. "That being said, for heavy smokers and obese smokers, it may be a good idea to work on quitting smoking while also making other healthy lifestyle changes to control their weight."

Aside from weaning off from nicotine dependency which can cause lung cancer and other diseases in the long run, there are many benefits of quitting smoking. According to Healthline, quitting can help improve blood circulation and lung function, and can lower risk of heart disease by 50 percent, deaths from lung cancer and other related diseases.