Weight gain as a barrier to smoking cessation among military personnel.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the relationships between active-duty military status, military weight standards, concern about weight gain, and anticipated relapse after smoking cessation.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Hospital-based tobacco cessation program.


METHODS
Two hundred fifty-two enrollees, of 253 eligible, to a tobacco cessation program in 1999 (135 men, 117 women; 43% on active duty in the military).


METHODS
Independent variables included gender, body mass index (weight/height2), and military status. Dependent variables included about weight gain with smoking cessation and anticipated relapse.


RESULTS
In multivariate regression analyses that controlled for gender and body mass index, active-duty military status was associated with an elevated level of concern about weight gain (1.9-point increase on a 10-point scale; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0- to 2.8-point increase), as well as higher anticipated relapse (odds ratio [OR] = 3.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 9.8). Among subjects who were close to or over the U.S. Air Force maximum allowable weight for height, the analogous OR for active-duty military status was 6.9 (p = .02).


CONCLUSIONS
Occupational weight standards or expectations may pose additional barriers for individuals contemplating or attempting smoking cessation, as they do among active-duty military personnel. These barriers are likely to hinder efforts to decrease smoking prevalence in certain groups.
Russ
C R
CR
Office of Prevention and Health Services Assessment, Population Health Support Division, Air Force Medical Operations Agency, 2602 Doolittle Road, Building 804, Brooks AFB, TX 78235-5249, USA.
Fonseca
V P
VP
Peterson
A L
AL
Blackman
L R
LR
Robbins
A S
AS
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D015430:Weight Gain