THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMOKING AND BODY-WEIGHT IN A POPULATION OF YOUNG MILITARY PERSONNEL

Evidence indicates that middle-aged smokers weigh less than nonsmokers and that smoking cessation reliably produces weight gain, but recent studies have questioned the weight control ''benefits'' of smoking in younger populations (the time that people typically initiate smoking). The relationship between smoking and body weight was evaluated in all U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training recruits during a 1-year perio d (n = 32,144). Those who smoked prior to Basic Military Training (n = 10,440) were compared to never smokers or experimental smokers. Resul ts indicated that regular-current smoking had no relationship to body weight in women (p >.05) and a very small effect in men (p <.05). Ethn icity, education, income, and duration and intensity of smoking did no t affect the relationship between smoking and body weight. It was conc luded that smoking has no effects on the body weights of young women a nd minimal effects in young men.