Weight Gain After Smoking Cessation: What Are the Consequences?

While weight gain following smoking cessation is associated with an increase in short-term risk of type 2 diabetes, this risk is offset by the long-term reductions to cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, according to the results of a recent study.

It is currently unclear whether weight gain that often follows smoking cessation could affect the health benefits of quitting.

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To further explore this association, researchers conducted 3 cohort studies in which they prospectively assessed changes in smoking status and body weight in adult men and women in the United States. Risk of type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular-related and all-cause mortality were estimated.

Overall, they found that the risk of type 2 diabetes was higher in participants who had recently quit smoking (2 to 6 years) than those who currently smoked (hazard ratio [HR] 1.22) and was directly proportional to weight gain. This risk peaked at 5 to 7 years after smoking cessation and then gradually declined. Risk was not elevated in individuals who did not gain weight following smoking cessation.

Compared with current smokers, the hazard ratios for death from cardiovascular disease were 0.69 among recent quitters without weight gain, 0.47 among those with weight gain of 0.1 to 5.0 kg, 0.25 among those with weight gain of 5.1 to 10.0 kg, 0.33 among those with weight gain of more than 10.0 kg, and 0.50 among longer-term quitters (>6 years since smoking cessation).

“Smoking cessation that was accompanied by substantial weight gain was associated with an increased short-term risk of type 2 diabetes but did not mitigate the benefits of quitting smoking on reducing cardiovascular and all-cause mortality,” they concluded.