Smoking cessation often results in weight gain but certain subtypes of
smokers may be more likely than others to gain weight. Women high in
dietary restraint (''restrainers'') Increase food intake and gain more
weight than nonrestrainers during smoking cessation. Restrainers have
also been reported to increase food intake following laboratory stres
sors. Therefore, the present study was designed to measure the influen
ce of stress on food intake and subjective distress during acute smoki
ng abstinence in restrained and nonrestrained women. Participants were
48 women,:18-40 years old, comprising six groups (n = 8 per group) in
a 2 x 3 x 2 design. Groups consisted of two levels of restraint (rest
rained and nonrestrained) and three levels of smoking (ad lib. smokers
, abstinent smokers, and nonsmokers), whereas the within-participant m
anipulation involved two sessions differing in stress (stress and cont
rol). Snack foods were available for consumption. Results showed that
distress, measured by the Stress-Arousal Checklist and visual analogue
measures of tension and anxiety, was higher in the stress session for
all groups except for restrainers who smoked ad lib. Furthermore, dis
tress was significantly higher in smoke-abstinent restrainers during t
he stress session than all other conditions. However, despite differen
ces in distress, no effect was observed for food intake. Desire for a
cigarette showed a sharper increase over the stress session for restra
iners compared with nonrestrainers but did not differ in the control s
ession. These data suggest that restrainers may use smoking to reduce
distress and may increase smoking, but not eating, during stress. (C)
1998 Elsevier Science Inc.