9 Million U.S. Smokers Are Obese

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9 Million U.S. Smokers Are Obese

Survey Shows More Than 80 Million U.S. Adults Either Smoke or Are

Obese

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

on Thursday, May 11, 2006

May 11, 2006 -- New research shows how common smoking and obesity

are among U.S. adults.

In BMJ Online First, experts report that more than 41% of U.S.

adults either smoke or are obese, and about 4.7% both smoke and are

obese.

Those figures work out to 81 million U.S. adults who either smoke or

are obese, and 9 million obese smokers.

The researchers included Cheryl Healton, DrPH, a professor of

clinical public health at Columbia University's Mailman School of

Public Health, located in New York. Healton is also the president

and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, which advocates against

tobacco use and funded the new study.

Data's Details

The data came from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS),

which included 29,305 people aged 18 and older.

Here's a closer look at the results on obese smokers:

5.3% of men and 4.2% of women smoke and are obese.

The percentage of obese smokers is higher in blacks than in other

racial or ethnic groups.

People with low incomes and low education levels are more likely to

be obese smokers.

The researchers write that there was " little variation " across age

groups, except for people older than 65, who are less likely to be

obese smokers, " probably because these risk factors are associated

with early death. "

New Options Needed

" Treatments for people who smoke and who are obese need to be

investigated, " write Healton and colleagues. They call for clinical

trials of programs that try to help people simultaneously stop

smoking and control weight.

Most programs for stopping smoking " do not encourage simultaneous

attempts at weight control because interventions aimed at changing

several health behaviors have not been very successful, " Healton's

team writes.

Smoking and obesity are both associated with serious health problems

including heart heart disease and cancer. However, not all smokers

or obese people develop those problems.

The NHIS didn't follow participants over time. The data don't show

which participants later died or developed health problems.

People who are concerned about their weight or who want to quit

smoking may want to check with a doctor for advice on moving towards

those goals.

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SOURCES: Healton, C. BMJ Online First, May 12, 2006. News release,

BMJ.

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