Research results suggest that the myth that 'smoking makes you fat' may be true.
According to the New York Post on the 26th (local time), a research team from the University of Minnesota Medical School in the United States published a study result that smoking cessation can lead to weight gain in the latest issue of the international scientific journal 'Drug and Alcohol Dependence'.
The researchers explained that it could make smokers prefer foods high in fat and sugar to fill the emptiness caused by quitting smoking.
The researchers analyzed that the opioid system, a brain function that controls addiction and appetite control, may have these effects in smokers with nicotine withdrawal.
Mustafa Al Absi, professor of family medicine and biobehavioral health at the University of Minnesota, who led the study, said, "We found out whether acute nicotine withdrawal increases the intake of junk food high in salt, fat, and sugar and how stress-relieving receptors in the opioid system work. "Educating patients to understand their eating habits and make healthier decisions will help them quit smoking."
The study was conducted on smokers and non-smokers aged 19 to 75 years.
All subjects stopped using nicotine for 24 hours, and some were given naltrexone used to treat addiction patients.
Then, the subjects were given a variety of snacks with differences in high-calorie and low-calorie, salty, sweet, and fat levels and observed.
The results showed that people suffering from nicotine withdrawal ate a higher-calorie diet, and those taking naltrexone had a significantly lower preference for high-calorie foods.
Professor Al Absi said: "Study results show that people are associated with eating foods, especially high-calorie foods, to cope with the negative emotions and pain people experience while quitting smoking. It increases the desire to eat."