Increased bodyweight after stopping smoking may be due to changes in insulin secretion
Date: 14.5.2012
Fear of putting on weight is one of the major reasons why smokers do not give up their habit. The reasons for this weight gain are believed to be in part due to metabolic changes in the body, but until now precise details of these changes were not known. Today (8 May 2012), however, a researcher from Austria told delegates at the International Congress of Endocrinology/European Congress of Endocrinology that her work had shown that changes in insulin secretion could be related to weight gain after smoking cessation.
"We found that body weight and fat mass increased after three months of no smoking, by 4% and 22% respectively," said Dr. Stadler, "and after six months the increase was 5% and 35% respectively. The most striking metabolic findings were an increased first phase insulin secretion in response to glucose challenge, as well as increased carbohydrate intake in the free choice buffet after three months of non-smoking.
