WIN Weight-control Information Network

You Can

Control Your Weight

as You Quit Smoking

Do you want to

stop smoking?

Are you worried

about gaining

weight? If so,

this information

may help you.

U.S. DEPARTMENT

OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Many people gain weight when they quit smoking. Even so, the best action

you can take to improve your health is to quit smoking. Focus on stopping

smoking first. Then you can continue to improve your health in other ways.

These may include reaching and staying at a healthy weight for life.

Will I gain weight if I stop smoking?

Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. Among people who

do, the average weight gain is between 6 and 8 pounds. Roughly 10

percent of people who stop smoking gain a large amount of weight—30

pounds or more.

What causes weight gain after quitting?

When smokers quit, they may gain weight for a number of reasons. These

include:

■ Feeling hungry. Quitting smoking may make a person feel hungrier than

usual. This feeling usually goes away after several weeks.

■ Having more snacks and alcoholic drinks. Some people eat more highfat, high-sugar snacks and drink more alcoholic beverages after they

quit smoking.

■ Burning calories at normal rate again. Smoking cigarettes makes the

body burn calories faster. After quitting smoking, the body’s normal rate

of burning calories returns. When calories are burned more slowly again,

weight gain may take place.

Can I avoid weight gain?

To help yourself gain only a small amount or no weight when you stop

smoking, try to:
2

Accept yourself

Get regular moderate-intensity physical activity

Limit snacking and alcohol

Consider using medication to help you quit.

Accept yourself

Do not worry about gaining a few pounds. Instead,

feel proud that you are helping your health by

quitting smoking. Stopping smoking may make you

feel better about yourself in many ways.

Stopping smoking may help you have:

■ more energy

■ whiter teeth

■ fresher breath and fresher smelling clothes and

hair

■ fewer wrinkles and healthier-looking skin

■ a clearer voice.

Get regular moderate-intensity

physical activity

Regular physical activity may help you avoid large

weight gains when you quit smoking. It may help you

look and feel good, and fit into your clothes better.

You will likely find that you can breathe easier during

physical activity after you quit smoking.

Try to get 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity

physical activity on most days of the week, preferably

every day. The ideas below may help you to be active

every day.

Ideas for being active every day

■ Take a walk after dinner.

■ Sign-up for a class such as dance or yoga. Ask a

friend to join you.

■ Get off the bus one stop early if you are in an area

safe for walking.

■ Park the car farther away from entrances to stores,

movie theatres, or your home.

■ Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Make sure

the stairs are well lit.

Limit snacking and alcohol

Having more high-fat, high-sugar snacks and

alcoholic drinks may lead to large weight gains when

you quit smoking. The ideas below may help you

make healthy eating and drinking choices as you quit

smoking.

Healthy eating and drinking choices as you

quit smoking

■ Do not go too long without eating. Being very

hungry can lead to less healthy food choices.

■ Eat enough at meal times to satisfy you.

■ Choose healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit or

canned fruit packed in juice (not syrup),

air-popped popcorn, or

fat-free yogurt, when

you are hungry between meals.

■ Do not deny yourself an occasional “treat.” If you

crave ice cream, enjoy a small cone.

■ Choose an herbal tea, hot cocoa made with nonfat

milk, or sparkling water instead of an alcoholic

beverage.

Consider using medication to help

you quit

Talk to your health care provider about medications

that may help you quit smoking. Some people gain

less weight when they use a medication to help them

stop smoking.
Medications that may help you quit

smoking

■ Nicotine replacement

therapy

● patch

● gum

● nasal spray

● inhaler

■ Antidepressant

medication

The patch and gum are available without a

prescription from your health care provider.

Will weight gain hurt my health?

A small—or even large—weight gain will not hurt your

health as much as continuing to smoke will. The

health risks of smoking are dramatic.

Health risks of smoking

■ Death—tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It kills more

than 400,000 people in the U.S. each year.

■ Cancer—smoking greatly increases the risk for lung

cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the

U.S. Smoking is also linked to cancer of the

esophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, and cervix.

■ Other health problems—smoking increases the risk

for lung disease and heart disease. In pregnant

women, smoking is linked to premature birth and

low birth weight babies.

By quitting smoking, you are taking a big step to

improve your health. Instead of worrying about

weight gain, focus on quitting. Once you are

tobacco-free, you can work toward having a healthy

weight for life by becoming more physically active

and choosing healthier foods.

These brochures from the Weight-control Information

Network (WIN) can help you adopt healthy eating

and physical activity habits:

Energize Yourself & Your Family

Healthy Eating & Physical Activity Across Your

Lifespan: Better Health and You

Just Enough for You: About Food Portions

Walking...A Step in the Right Direction

For more information on quitting

smoking, contact:

American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.org

1-800-ACS-2345 1-800-227-2345

American Heart Association

http://www.americanheart.org

1-800-AHA-USA1 1-800-242-8721

American Lung Association

http://www.lungusa.org/

212-315-8700

National Cancer Institute

http://www.nci.nih.gov

1-800-4-CANCER 1-800-422-6237

1-800-332-8615 (TTY)

National Institute on Drug Abuse

http://www.nida.nih.gov

301-443-1124

Office of the Surgeon General

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco

3
NIH Publication No. 03-4159

May 2003

National Institute of Diabetes and

Digestive and Kidney Diseases

The Weight-control Information

Network (WIN) is a national service

of the National Institute of Diabetes

and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

of the National Institutes of Health,

which is the Federal Government’s

lead agency responsible for

biomedical research on nutrition and

obesity. Authorized by Congress

(Public Law 103-43), WIN provides

the general public, health

professionals, the media, and

Congress with up-to-date, sciencebased health information on weight

control, obesity, physical activity,

and related nutritional issues.

WIN answers inquiries, develops and

distributes publications, and works

closely with professional and patient

organizations and Government

agencies to coordinate resources

about weight control and related

issues.

Publications produced by WIN are

reviewed by both NIDDK scientists

and outside experts. This fact sheet

was also reviewed by Robert Eckel,

M.D., Professor of Medicine,

Physiology, and Biophysics,

University of Colorado Health

Sciences Center.

Weight-control

Information

Network

1 WIN WAY

BETHESDA, MD 20892-3665

Phone: (202) 828-1025

Toll-free number:

1-877-946-4627

FAX: (202) 828-1028

Email:

WIN@info.niddk.nih.gov

Internet: www.niddk.nih.gov/

health/nutrit/nutrit.htm

This publication is not copyrighted. WIN

encourages users of this fact sheet to duplicate

and distribute as many copies as desired.

This fact sheet is also available at

www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/nutrit.htm.