Weight Concerns Among Smokers

Article Highlights

Study Title
Prevalence of Weight Concerns and Obesity Among Smokers Calling a Quitline
Study Authors
Terry Bush, Michele D. Levine, Mona Deprey, Barbara Cerutti, Susan M. Zbikowski, Tim McAfee, Lisa Mahoney, and Laura Beebe
Publication Date
2009
 

Overview

Smoking and obesity are the two greatest and most preventable causes of sickness and death worldwide. In the United States, about 41% of adults are smokers or obese and 4.7% are both. Quitting smoking can greatly reduce health risks, but quitting can often lead to weight gain, which can increase relapse rates for many people concerned about their weight. Obese smokers tend to gain more weight than the average smoker and also have lower quit rates. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity and weight concerns among smokers calling the Oklahoma Tobacco HelpLine (OKHL).


Design

Between March and June of 2008, in addition to the usual screening questions, all adults who called the OKHL were asked four additional questions to measure their concerns with weight gain and determine their body mass index (BMI). Based on this information, smokers were classified by weight group (obese, overweight, normal, and underweight) and whether they had significant concerns about gaining weight when quitting.

Findings

3972 (90.6%) smokers consented to being asked the four additional questions and answered all four. The authors found that 33.3% were obese, 30.2% overweight, 33.3% normal weight and 3.2% underweight; and a total of 60.6% had weight concerns around quitting smoking. Obese callers were more likely to be female, Hispanic, non-White and heavier smokers than those who were overweight or normal.


Conclusions

This was the first study to document body weight and weight concerns of smokers calling a state quitline. It shows that body weight and weight concerns data can be collected from quitline callers. Obese callers are utilizing quitline services presenting an opportunity for the development of programs to address the major health concerns of smoking and weight in a quitline setting.