Smoking heavily could lead to an expanding waistline, according to a new study led by the University of Bristol.
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Unlike a previously-believed thought that weight gain leads to a protruded stomach, a latest study has associated heavy smoking with the appearance of a fat stomach.
“What I think our study does is help identify specific groups of smokers who may gain more weight when they quit so that they can be prepared and have realistic expectations”, she said.
The researchers reviewed data from 29 studies involving 148,731 people with European ancestry who were either smokers, former smokers, or people who had never smoked.
The findings of the study, published in the BMJ Open Journal, show that heavy smoking does result in lower Body Mass Index (BMI) as per genetic variation data.
The participants who possess a genetic variant that suggest their extra cigarette consumption per day, will also have a 0.14 percent increase in waist circumference for every copy of the said gene, provided that their BMI stays the same. The information detailed the smoking habits of the volunteers, as well as their weight and waist circumference.
This means that adults who smoke either may gradually acquire an “apple shape” or “paunch”, and they might then increase their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The result suggests a preferential redistribution of fat towards the stomach.
However, researchers at Penn State College of Medicine found that the amount of weight an ex-smoker gains might depend on their starting weights, Reuters Health reported.
“Whilst smoking lessens weight overall, it tends to push fat more into the central area so waist circumference is preferentially higher”, said Professor Naveed Sattar, of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences. “That’s true at point of smoking, but it means smoking is lessening the chance of putting fat on in the ‘safe bits”‘. What they found is that for smokers of fewer than 15 cigarettes per day, there was no significant difference in the 10-year weight gain between those who quit smoking and those who did not quit.
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Researchers are hoping the news that smoking can cause an “apple shape” will give smokers another reason to kick the habit.
