Smoke and mirrors: magnified
beliefs that cigarette smoking suppresses weight
Addict Behav
Article in Press, Accepted Manuscript 2007
Marney A. White, a, Sherry A. McKee,a and Stephanie S. O'Malley,a
aDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale Psychiatric Research, Yale University
School of Medicine, P.O. Box 208098, 301 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT.
06520, United States
Abstract
Research suggests that for some smokers, weight concerns interfere with
smoking cessation. Studies with individuals with eating disorders and
weight concerns have indicated that weight-concerned individuals place
undue faith in the effectiveness of certain weight control strategies;
i.e., adopt a brand of magical thinking pertaining to food rules and
dieting behaviors. The current study investigated whether
weight-concerned
smokers endorsed exaggerated beliefs in the ability of smoking to
suppress
body weight. Participants were 385 individuals undergoing treatment for
smoking cessation. Prior to treatment, participants completed the
Smoking
Consequences Questionnaire –Adult (SCQ-A), the Dieting and
Bingeing
Severity Scale, and the Perceived Risks and Benefits Questionnaire
(PBRQ).
Results indicated that heightened beliefs in the effectiveness of
smoking
to control weight were related to eating and weight concerns;
specifically, strong associations were observed between SCQ-A Weight
Control scores and fear of weight gain, loss of control over eating,
and
body dissatisfaction. Although SCQ-A Weight Control scores were related
to
(self-reported) weight gain during a previous quit attempt, scores did
not
predict actual weight gain over the course of the cessation trial.
Reported weight gain at previous attempts was also unrelated to actual
weight gain over the current trial. These findings indicate that eating
and weight concerned smokers may benefit from psychoeducation
concerning
the relatively modest and temporary ability of nicotine to suppress
weight.