Smoking and relative body weight: an international perspective from the WHO MONICA Project.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the magnitude and consistency of the associations between smoking and body mass index (BMI) in different populations.


METHODS
A cross sectional study.


METHODS
About 69,000 men and women aged 35-64 years from 42 populations participating in the first WHO MONICA survey in the early and mid 1980s.


RESULTS
Compared to never smokers, regular smokers had significantly (p < 0.05) lower median BMI in 20 (men) and 30 (women) out of 42 populations (range -2.9 to 0.5 kg/m2). There was no population in which smokers had a significantly higher BMI than never smokers. Among men, the association between leanness and smoking was less apparent in populations with relatively low proportions of regular smokers and high proportions of ex-smokers. Ex-smokers had significantly higher BMI than never smokers in 10 of the male populations but in women no consistent pattern was observed. Adjustment for socioeconomic status did not affect these results.


CONCLUSIONS
Although in most populations the association between smoking and BMI is similar, the magnitude of this association may be affected by the proportions of smokers and ex-smokers in these populations.
Molarius
A
A
MONICA Data Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
Seidell
J C
JC
Kuulasmaa
K
K
Dobson
A J
AJ
Sans
S
S
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation