Why does smoking curb appetite

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil. Do not gloat already if you have lost some weight in the process.

Losing weight through smoking is the most horrible idea and should not be endorsed at any cost. If along with this weight loss, you have also been feeling tired lately, this means that your body is getting worn out and your health is deteriorating by the minute. Once you are in the habit of having at least one cigarette in a day, your appetite starts becoming less.

This is because nicotine suppresses your appetite and forms a layer on your tongue which makes food look unappetizing to you. Therefore, cigarette addicts often prefer having a cigarette than having food. This may make you lose weight but this actually means that your body starts becoming calorie and nutrient deficient. Since the blood vessels narrow down due to this addition of smoke, the functioning of your stomach starts getting disturbed. This is why you stop feeling hungry more often.

Hence, you are losing weight but also losing your body at the same time. This happens because once you leave smoking, you get back to your normal eating habits. You may also end up eating more than the usual in order to manage your de-addiction from smoking. This is a method that makes you weak and not thin, which has healthy connotations. Smoking only means diseases and permanent health issues in the future. Weight loss should be a sustainable process after which your skin is firm, it has a glow to it and your health parameters are in check.

Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox. Even if you eat no more than when you smoked, you may put on some weight. But being more active can help. Regular exercise may prevent about half the weight gain expected after a year of quitting smoking.

It burns off calories and reduces cravings for cigarettes. Build up to at least minutes 2. Moderate-intensity activity means working hard enough to make you breathe more heavily than normal and feel slightly warmer than usual.

Read more about how to get into exercise , or try Couch to 5K , which will get you running 5km in 9 weeks even if you're an absolute beginner. Find out more about exercises for disabled people. Stop smoking medicines , such as nicotine replacement therapy NRT and the prescription tablets Zyban bupropion and Champix varenicline , can double your chances of quitting successfully.

E-cigarettes have become a very popular stop smoking aid. Although not completely risk-free, they're substantially safer than smoking and many people have found them helpful for quitting. Find out more about e-cigarettes. If you're concerned about weight gain but think stopping smoking and dieting at the same time will be too much, stop smoking first and deal with any weight gain afterwards. If you're really worried about putting on weight, ask the GP to refer you to a dietitian for a diet plan tailored to your individual needs.

Some studies have shown that nicotine can help curb weight loss by decreasing hunger stimulation and increasing metabolic demands however overtime this theory begins to deteriorate. Long term studies have shown that smokers do not actually weigh less than nonsmokers and this could be due to smokers generally have a sedentary lifestyle and eat unhealthier foods than nonsmokers. Studies have also found that individuals with bulimia or anorexia nervosa are more likely to engage in cigarette smoking however the underlying reason has to do with impulsive behavior rather than weight loss.

Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa are characterized by lack of control and impulsive behaviors. Impulsivity is a primary feature of many disorders including addiction, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder and gambling.

The sudden urge to eat an excessive amount of food in a short period of time is similar to the immediate need to smoke one cigarette after another. It is estimated that approximately sixteen million people live with a serious illness caused by tobacco smoking [1]. Tobacco use and smoking often co-occur with other mental illnesses, such as eating disorders, which can compound and intensify any potential underlying issues. The issue of tobacco use among eating disorder sufferers is much more prevalent than is recognized.

This may be related to the fact that tobacco and cigarettes are legal and accessible, compared to other substances, and perhaps even glamorized in our society.

While research has identified that tobacco use generally dulls appetite, there has been more recent investigation into the direct connection between cigarette smoking and eating disorders. The idea that cigarette smoking is helpful in controlling body weight has been part of popular culture for many decades, dating back to s advertisements that suggested women could smoke to help curb cravings for sweets [2].

Nicotine, the main component of cigarettes, is thought to release neurochemicals in the brain such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which work to suppress appetite and facilitate weight loss [2]. A study completed by the University of North Carolina Department of Psychiatry found that subjects with eating disorders of any type, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and purging disorder, had increased rates of smoking and higher nicotine dependence compared to controls [3].

Researchers hypothesized that smoking in eating disorders is related to impulsivity, which is often characteristic of individuals with bulimia and binge eating disorder. Other research has also identified how cigarette smoke is frequently turned to in attempt for weight loss, where many individuals falsely believe that smoking can either help maintain body weight, curb cravings, prevent weight gain or help with weight loss.

The sad reality is that the combination of eating disorder behaviors and substance abuse via smoking can be disastrous and potentially lethal.