Fear of fat fuels tobacco use

Fear of fat fuels tobacco use

November 1998   Women's Health Update

Weight control is the main reason teenage girls start smoking, according to a study of nearly 3000 British and Canadian schoolgirls.

An article in the Postgraduate Medical Journal reports girls who smoked were more likely to be overweight, prone to overeating and twice as likely to be worried about their body image than non-smokers.

One in four girls said smoking made them less hungry and they used smoking 'instead of eating'. Fear of putting on weight prevented girls quitting, although many reported they would be healthier and it would please their parents if they stopped smoking.

'Not only to they feel too fat but they are also frightened of losing control of their eating,' according to lead researcher Professor Arthur Crisp of St George's Medical School in London.

'More worrying is the fact they are using cigarettes as a way of controlling their weight and trading pounds of their weight for years off their life.'

The number of British teenage girls smoking has increased, despite efforts by the UK government to reduce teenage smoking.

Ref:BMJ;317:366