Why do people get better after stopping smoking?
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Fear of getting better is one of the main reasons why smokers do not quit smoking. The root causes for weight gain are believed to be hidden in metabolic abnormalities, but so far there has been no specific data on these abnormalities. The researcher from Austria told the participants of the International Congress of Endocrinology and the Euro Congress on Endocrinology about her work. She found that changes in the synthesis of insulin can be associated with an increase in body weight after quitting smoking.
The doctor Marietta Stadler from the hospital Haising in Vienna invited to participate in his study of smokers participating in the national program of quitting. In this study, a 3-hour study of glucose tolerance was conducted at a time when they had not abandoned the habit and at least 3 and 6 months after quitting. At the same time, their body structure was measured.
Scientists have determined the synthesis of insulin beta cells during fasting and after taking glucose, and also evaluated the appetite of participants, offering them a snack. The levels of several hormones that are involved in the regulation of metabolism and appetite have also been determined.
"We found that body weight and fat mass increased after 5 months without smoking by 5% and 23%, respectively," said Stadler, "and in 6 months the increase was 7% and 36% respectively." More interesting metabolic data were an increase in the first phase of insulin secretion in response to stimulation with glucose, as well as increased consumption of carbohydrates during a snack after 3 months of quitting.The participants identified significant insulin resistance to the hungry stomach after 3 months, but not at 6 months, at that time how chuv The insulin resistance after starvation, assessed in an analysis of glucose tolerance, remained unchanged throughout the study.The neuropeptide-Y (NPY) values on the empty stomach were increased by the 3rd month, but not on the 6th month.
"We think that changes in the synthesis of insulin could be associated with an insurmountable attraction to carbohydrates and an increase in the weight with which almost all smokers who quit are met, however, increasing insulin secretion and carbohydrate consumption seems to be a result of a failure with smoking, as these changes were not observed after 6 months, although the participants even more recovered.
"All these factors are indicators for understanding the metabolic processes that are associated with weight gain after smoking cessation," concluded the doctor Stadler. "The more we can understand the biological basis of this phenomenon, the more our chances of controlling it"