title: Cigarette smoking and fat distribution in 21,828 British men and women: a population-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between cigarette smoking habits and fat distribution in a population-based cohort of men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed cross-sectional data from 21,828 men and women who were 45 to 79 years of age, residents in Norfolk, United Kingdom, and were recruited between 1993 and 1997. Cigarette smoking habits and other lifestyle factors were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. Anthropometric measures were obtained during a health examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Waist-hip ratio was highest among current smokers and least among never smokers after adjusting for age, BMI, alcohol intake, total energy intake, physical activity, and education. Higher waist-hip ratio was directly associated with higher smoking pack-years in current and former smokers and inversely with duration since quitting smoking in former smokers. Adjusting for age, BMI, and other covariates, current smokers had higher waist circumference but lower hip circumference compared with former or never smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cigarette smoking habits seem to influence fat distribution patterns. Although smokers have lower mean BMI compared with nonsmokers, they have a more metabolically adverse fat distribution profile, with higher central adiposity. The explanation for this association may help elucidate the mechanisms underlying the adverse health consequences of cigarette smoking and abdominal obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK. dexter.canoy@srl.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Dexter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Canoy
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wareham
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luben
authors.forename: Ailsa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bingham
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: Kay-Tee
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Khaw
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000473:pathology; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio