Although quitting smoking has many benefits, one unfortunate side effect is weight gain. In the month of October, 2011, the Journal of Epidemiology reported the results of a study on quitting smoking and blood sugar levels, performed by the Kanagawa Health Services Association in Japan.

Nine hundred and forty-six volunteers who had stopped smoking were included in the study. After 3 years, the people who had gained weight were found to have higher blood sugar levels than they had at the beginning of the study. Blood sugar levels went up at the same rate as their body weight, and were greatest for those who had smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day.

Smoking increases the levels of adrenalin, which can help to burn calories, but it is not a good way to maintain normal body weight. Individuals planning to quit smoking need to compensate by either cutting back on calories (or kilojoules), and/or by increasing their physical activity. Exercise has the advantage of:

    * getting smokers away from their frequently used environments, and
    * helps them to substitute another activity for the smoking.

Many smokers smoke to relieve stress... exercise is also a great way to relieve stress.

Studies have shown exercise decreases the cravings for tobacco. But to be effective, exercise must be frequent. In August 2011, the journal Addictive Behavior reported on a study from the Institute for Community Health Promotion at Brown University in Rhode Island, USA. Sixty female smokers completed an eight week program on smoking cessation that included counseling and a nicotine patch before being assigned either to:

    * three weeks of aerobic exercises, or
    * no exercise at all.

Women in the exercise group, reported having not only decreased cravings but also higher energy levels and less tiredness.

The bad news is their cravings returned between exercise periods. It was therefore concluded exercise could be successfully used to help anyone quit smoking if exercise was participated in often.

Another study which was reported in the journal Pediatrics October, 2011, found teenagers, especially boys, were better able to quit smoking if they were given physical activity training along with other forms of therapy. Investigators at West Virginia University School of Medicine, in Morgantown, a city with a record for the least healthful habits in the USA, included 233 smokers ranging in age from 14 to 19 in this study. They were assigned to three groups and provided with either:

    * brief intervention,
    * a teen cessation program called Not on Tobacco, or
    * Not on Tobacco with physical activity.

At the end of six months, adolescents in the Not on Tobacco program along with exercise had the greatest rate of successfully quitting smoking. Boys in the exercise program had a higher rate of quitting than girls in the same program. It was concluded physical activity along with an effective adolescent smoking cessation program, could be a more effective way of treating nicotine addiction in adolescents.

By Beverleigh H Piepers