THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY-WEIGHT AND PATTERNS OF SMOKING IN WOMENAND MEN

Background. In the scientific literature, studies of the relationship between cigarette smoking and body weight yield conflicting results. W eight-lowering effects in women and men have been associated with smok ing, however, no effects on weight have been proven. The purpose of th is study was to examine the gender-related association between cigaret te smoking and relative weight in a rural population in Styria, Austri a. Methods. A database from a health survey conducted between 1989 and 1993 in 79 selected rural communities of Styria was used for these an alyses. The sample consisted of 27 344 participants, 16 185 women and 11 159 men, aged greater than or equal to 15 years. We controlled for possible confounding factors such as age, years of education, alcohol consumption, regular physical activity, and chronic diseases. Results. For women and men, in comparison to non- and ex-smokers, smoking is s ignificantly correlated with lower body mass index (BMI). In contrast, heavy smoking and smoking cessation ate significantly associated with higher relative weight. Conclusions. We found significant results con firming an association between cigarette smoking and lower BMI in wome n and men, whereas heavy smoking as well as smoking cessation were sig nificantly correlated with higher relative weight. Health intervention programmes to quit smoking should take into account the underlying pe rceived benefits of smoking with regard to weight, especially its gend er specificity.