title: Smoking Habits and Body Weight Over the Adult Lifespan in Postmenopausal Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The inter-relationships between smoking habits and weight gain are complex. However, few studies have examined the association of smoking habits with weight gain over the life course.
  
  
  METHODS
  Major smoking parameters and weight gain over time were examined in a large cohort of postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years at enrollment between 1993 and 1998 (N=161,808) and followed through 2014 (analyses conducted in 2016). Cross-sectional analyses were used to assess the association of smoking and body weight at baseline. Retrospective data were used to correlate smoking status with body weight over a 45-year period prior to enrollment. In addition, the association of smoking with weight gain over 6 years of follow-up was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, women who had quit smoking prior to enrollment weighed 4.7 kg more than current smokers and 2.6 kg more than never smokers. Former, never, and current smokers all gained weight over the 45-year period from age 18 years to time of enrollment (average age, 63 years): 16.8, 16.4, and 14.6 kg, respectively. In prospective analyses, women who were current smokers at baseline but who quit smoking during follow-up gained more than 5 kg by Year 6 compared with current smokers at baseline who continued to smoke. Among long-term quitters, greater intensity of smoking and more recent quitting were associated with greater weight gain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that excess weight gain associated with smoking cessation occurs soon after quitting and is modest relative to weight gain in never smokers over the adult lifespan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Electronic address: geoffrey.kabat@einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Geoffrey C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kabat
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Moonseong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Karen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, New York.
authors.forename: Gloria Y F
authors.initials: GYF
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Hilary A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Tindle
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: LaMonte
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Giovino
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Rohan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*