- Researchers say many people gain weight when they try to quit smoking because the part of the brain that craves nicotine needs replacement fuel when that substance is eliminated.
- They say the new cravings can cause people to select foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, causing weight gain.
- Experts say people who try to quit smoking should be aware of the weight gain issue and develop a plan to replace food cravings with activities such as exercising or chatting with friends.
Smoking cessation may be linked to weight gain not just as a way to replace an oral fixation.
It might also satisfy a need to send replacement fuel to the part of the brain that loves nicotine.
A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence has concluded that people attempting to quit smoking don’t just lean toward food in general.
They reach for high carb, high sugar comfort foods.
“There’s a certain part of the brain wiring that occurs with smoking and other addictions,” Mustafa al’Absi, PhD, lead author of the study and a licensed psychologist and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, told Healthline.
That wiring, part of the “stress appetite nexus in the brain,” al’Absi said, leads the person trying to quit smoking to reach for those higher carb, higher fat foods.
He calls this “compensatory behavior,” often leading to weight gain that stops many people from successfully quitting.
Source: healthline