Smoking and Obesity Do Not Go Together

 
New Delhi Friday 30 October 2009: Obese people should not smoke as the combination may be deadly said Dr KK Aggarwal President, Heart Care Foundation of India.

 
Smoking and obesity are independent predictors of mortality, but smoking and being obese especially increases the mortality risk as per a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 
The study showed that obese smokers had a six to eight times greater risk of dying compared with normal weight people who never smoked. In addition, among smokers with a large waist, the risk of dying was five times greater than among people with the smallest waists who never smoked. 
 
If you are overweight and smoke, fixing either one can markedly improve your chances for a normal life span. Fix both, and the probability of benefit is huge.

 
If one is obese and smokes and has to choose between weight loss and smoking cessation to improve health, the latter will have a greater protective effect. Smoking cessation is associated with significantly lower mortality risk in every weight group. Smoking cessation has a great effect on lowering risk of dying, one which far outweighs the slight increased risk from the associated increase in weight.