Positive Attitude More Helpful for Weight Control than Smoking

Apr 27, 2009

You keep on smoking so that you can control your body weight? Or do you want to quite smoking but fear that you will gain weight considerably? Rest assured. Your fears of weight gain may not come true. All you have to do is start thinking positively and acquire a positive body image. A positive body image and weight loss have stronger affinity. Most college going young girls fear giving up smoking because it will result in weight gain. But a new research shows that a more effective approach in keeping body weight in check is to dialog with and support these young women, and to make them get a positive body image.
Melissa Napolitano who is a Clinical Psychologist at Temple University Center for Obesity Research and Education explains, “A lot of college – age women report smoking to keep their weight down and for body image reasons, and we think that by providing them with the tools to make them feel better about themselves, it alleviates some of those stressors.”

They have conducted a two phased study. In the first phase researchers asked the focus group about the reasons of smoking. The answers were obvious like stress, peer pressure and weight management. The girls also seconded the observation that being part of a group-based social support network would be very helpful for them, in their bid to quit the habit.

The second phase of the study was known as Fit to Quit. Twenty four girls were randomly assigned either to an exercise program or body image group counseling session. The girls were also provided with nicotine patches so that they don’t suffer too much of a withdrawal symptoms.

After eight weeks the girls were called for assessment. The researchers have found that those in the body image group counseling were more than twice as likely as the others to have permanently renounced smoking. They exhibited an 18 percent success rate, whereas the others in the supervised group-exercise program only showed an eight percent quitting rate. Napolitano revealed, “Alot of times, we would try to call participants to remind them of different sessions, and they would respond back via text or e-mail, so we took that message and used avenues like text messaging and the Internet not just as a means of getting information out, but for support as well.” She is quite hopeful and elaborates further, “Our hope is to make programs like Fit to Quit sustainable on other college campuses, because we know that if we can give young people the tools they need to make better health decisions, it helps them not only improve their health but it also helps them do better academically.”

Posted by admin | Tags: Health and Fitness, Weight Facts
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