Some bad habits go hand in hand, new research suggests. It finds that smokers are more likely to have a poor-quality diet and eat less overall, than those who don’t smoke cigarettes.
They’re also more likely to eat fried food, add salt and sugar to meals than non-smokers, according to the study involving 83-thousand adults.
- Researchers compared the eating habits and BMIs of both smokers and non-smoker participants.
- They found smokers are twice as likely to skip meals and 50% more likely to go more than three hours without eating, compared to non-smokers.
- Those who smoke are more likely to eat fewer meals a day and they’re 35% less likely to snack between meals.
- Smokers were eight to 13% less likely to eat sweet foods than non-smokers, but they were also 8% more likely to eat fried food, 70% more likely to add salt and 36% more likely to add sugar to their food.
“The worry of gaining weight is a common reason for smokers not attempting to quit or being unsuccessful in their attempts to quit smoking,” explains lead study author Dr. Scott Willis. “Our findings indicate that smoking is associated with eating behavior patterns consistent with reduced food intake and worse diet quality. This could help explain the weight gain commonly observed when people stop smoking.”
Source: Talker