The efficacy of exercise as an aid for smoking cessation in women - A randomized controlled trial

Background: Smoking prevalence rates among women are declining at a slower rate than among men. Objective: To determine if exercise, a healthful alternative to smoking, en hances the achievement and maintenance of smoking cessation. Methods: Two hundred eighty-one healthy, sedentary female smokers were rand omly assigned to either a cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation program wi th vigorous exercise (exercise) or to the same program with equal staff con tact time (control). Subjects participated in a 12-session, group-based smo king cessation program. Additionally, exercise subjects were required to at tend 3 supervised exercise sessions per week and control subjects were requ ired to participate in 3 supervised health education lectures per week. Abs tinence from smoking was based on self-report, was verified by saliva cotin ine level, and was measured at 1 week after quit day (week 5), end of treat ment (week 12), and 3 and 12 months later (20 and 60 weeks after quit day, respectively). Results: Compared with control subjects (n = 147), exercise subjects (n = 1 34) achieved significantly higher levels of continuous abstinence at the en d of treatment (19.4% vs 10.2%, P = .03) and 3 months (16.4% vs 8.2%, P = . 03) and 12 months (11.9% vs 5.4%, P = .05) following treatment. Exercise su bjects had significantly increased functional capacity (estimated (V) over doto(2) peak, 25 +/- 6 to 28 +/- 6, P<.01) and had gained less weight by th e end of treatment (3.05 vs 5.40 kg, P = .03). Conclusions: Vigorous exercise facilitates short- and longer-term smoking c essation in women when combined with a cognitive-behavioral smoking cessati on program. Vigorous exercise improves exercise capacity and delays weight gain following smoking cessation.