Fear of fat keeps some women smoking

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Women who smoke tend to be more prone to dieting and binging than women who don’t smoke, a U.S. study reported.

The study, published in Addictive Behaviors, suggests women who have trouble managing their weight or are dissatisfied with their bodies are drawn to smoking and need to become more realistic about body image and pay attention to unhealthful eating patterns -- particularly if they are already overweight.

Study author Cindy Pomerleau, director of the Nicotine Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, asked 587 women between the ages of 18 and 55 -- 420 were smokers and 167 women had never smoked -- to look at silhouette pictures of 10 different body types.

The smokers chose an ideal body shape that was slimmer than ones the non-smokers chose.

"The problem here is getting women who are concerned about their weight to be willing to try to make a quit attempt, and then helping them gain a sense of control over their weight," Pomerleau said in a statement.