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Many people gain
weight when they quit smoking. Even so, the best
action you can take to improve your health is to
quit smoking. Focus on stopping smoking first. Then
you can continue to improve your health in other
ways. These may include reaching and staying at a
healthy weight for life.
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Will I
gain weight if I stop smoking? |
Not everyone gains
weight when they stop smoking. Among people who do,
the average weight gain is between 6 and 8 pounds.
Roughly 10 percent of people who stop smoking gain
a large amount of weight—30 pounds or
more.
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What
causes weight gain after quitting? |
When smokers quit,
they may gain weight for a number of reasons. These
include:
-
Feeling hungry. Quitting
smoking may make a person feel hungrier than
usual. This feeling usually goes away after
several weeks.
-
Having more snacks and
alcoholic drinks. Some people eat more
high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drink more
alcoholic beverages after they quit
smoking.
-
Burning calories at
normal rate again. Smoking cigarettes makes
the body burn calories faster. After quitting
smoking, the body's normal rate of burning
calories returns. When calories are burned
more slowly again, weight gain may take
place.
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| Can I avoid
weight gain? |
To help yourself
gain only a small amount or no weight when you stop
smoking, try to:
-
Accept yourself
-
Get regular
moderate-intensity physical activity
-
Limit snacking and
alcohol
-
Consider using medication
to help you quit.
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| Accept
yourself |
Do not worry about gaining a
few pounds. Instead, feel proud that you are
helping your health by quitting smoking. Stopping
smoking may make you feel better about yourself
in many ways.
Stopping smoking may help
you have:
-
-
-
fresher breath and
fresher smelling clothes and hair
-
fewer wrinkles and
healthier-looking skin
-
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| Get regular
moderate-intensity physical
activity |
Regular physical
activity may help you avoid large weight gains when
you quit smoking. It may help you look and feel
good, and fit into your clothes better. You will
likely find that you can breathe easier during
physical activity after you quit
smoking.
Try to get 30
minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical
activity on most days of the week, preferably every
day. The ideas below may help you to be active
every day.
Ideas for being
active every day
-
Take a walk after
dinner.
-
Sign-up for a class such as
dance or yoga. Ask a friend to join
you.
-
Get off the bus one stop
early if you are in an area safe for
walking.
-
Park the car farther away
from entrances to stores, movie theatres, or
your home.
-
Take the stairs instead of
the elevator. Make sure the stairs are well
lit.
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Limit
snacking and alcohol
|
Having more
high-fat, high-sugar snacks and alcoholic drinks
may lead to large weight gains when you quit
smoking. The ideas below may help you make healthy
eating and drinking choices as you quit
smoking.
Healthy eating
and drinking choices as you quit
smoking
-
Do not go too long without
eating. Being very hungry can lead to less
healthy food choices.
-
Eat enough at meal times to
satisfy you.
-
Choose healthy snacks, such
as fresh fruit or canned fruit packed in juice
(not syrup), air-popped popcorn, or fat-free
yogurt, when you are hungry between
meals.
-
Do not deny yourself an
occasional "treat." If you crave ice cream,
enjoy a small cone.
-
Choose an herbal tea, hot
cocoa made with nonfat milk, or sparkling water
instead of an alcoholic beverage.
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| Consider
using medication to help you quit |
Talk to your
health care provider about medications that may
help you quit smoking. Some people gain less weight
when they use a medication to help them stop
smoking.
Medications
that may help you quit smoking
The patch and gum
are available without a prescription from your
health care provider.
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| Will weight gain
hurt my health? |
A small—or
even large—weight gain will not hurt your
health as much as continuing to smoke will. The
health risks of smoking are dramatic.
Health risks of
smoking
-
Death—tobacco use is the
leading cause of preventable death in the
United States. It kills more than 400,000
people in the U.S. each year.
-
Cancer—smoking greatly
increases the risk for lung cancer, the
leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
Smoking is also linked to cancer of the
esophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, and
cervix.
-
Other health
problems—smoking increases the risk
for lung disease and heart disease. In
pregnant women, smoking is linked to
premature birth and low birth weight
babies.
By quitting
smoking, you are taking a big step to improve your
health. Instead of worrying about weight gain,
focus on quitting. Once you are tobacco-free, you
can work toward having a healthy weight for life by
becoming more physically active and choosing
healthier foods.
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| For more
information on quitting smoking,
contact: |
American Cancer
Society
http://www.cancer.org/
1-800-ACS-2345 1-800-227-2345
American Heart
Association
http://www.americanheart.org/
1-800-AHA-USA1 1-800-242-8721
American Lung
Association
http://www.lungusa.org/
212-315-8700
National Cancer
Institute
http://www.nci.nih.gov/
1-800-4-CANCER 1-800-422-6237
1-800-332-8615 (TTY)
National
Institute on Drug Abuse
http://www.nida.nih.gov/
301-443-1124
Office of the
Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco
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