Studies have revealed the long-term health effects of quitting smoking

A team study by the Shanghai Academy of Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health found that weight gain caused by quitting smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes in the short term, and that weight gain does not offset the protective effect of quitting smoking on the long-term risk of death. The results were published online
.
current research shows that ex-smokers gain weight for about six years, up to a dozen kilograms. But it remains unclear whether this level of weight gain will offset the long-term health benefits of quitting smoking.
study included nearly 300,000 respondents from three large prospective study cohorts and followed them every two years to collect data on smoking status, weight, and disease incidence. The researchers layered smokers based on weight changes and analyzed type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular mortality and overall mortality risk for all types of smokers. The study found that among new smokers who gained more than 15 kg of weight, the risk of type 2 diabetes increased, peaked in five to seven years and gradually declined over the next 20 years. Among new smokers who did not gain weight, the risk of diabetes did not change significantly compared to smokers, but subsequently declined, approaching nonsmosts.
based on the stratation of weight gain six years after quitting smoking, the scientists found that those who gained the most weight had the greatest increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while those who did not gain weight continued to decrease.
more importantly, regardless of weight changes, the cardiovascular and all-cause mortality rates of new smokers declined very rapidly and remained at around 70 percent of smokers for a long time.
further analysis found that new smokers who increased their metabolic equivalent physical activity by 10 metabolic equivalents each week gained 0.13 kg of weight per year, while new smokers who gained 10 points on a healthy diet gained 0.26 kg less weight. This result suggests that increased physical activity and improved dietary structure can effectively inhibit weight gain.
is the first systematic study to study weight changes and long-term type 2 diabetes risk, cardiovascular mortality and overall mortality after quitting smoking, according to experts. The findings are important clinical guidelines for encouraging smoking cessation and post-smoking health management. (Source: Huang Xin, China Science Daily)