Secondhand cigarette smoke causes weight gain

http://news.byu.edu/archive14-oct-secondhandsmoke.aspx

New research is challenging the decades-old belief that smoking cigarettes helps keep you slim.

A BYU study published in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism finds that exposure to cigarette smoke can actually cause weight gain. But here’s the kicker: Secondhand smoke is the biggest culprit.

“For people who are in a home with a smoker, particularly children, the increased risk of cardiovascular or metabolic problems is massive,” said author Benjamin Bikman, professor of physiology and developmental biology at Brigham Young University.

Data shows half of the U.S. population is exposed at least once daily to secondhand cigarette smoke and approximately 20 percent of young children live with someone who smokes in the home. Every day, almost 4,000 young adults smoke their first cigarette and 1,000 become habitual smokers.

Bikman and BYU colleague Paul Reynolds’ interest in cigarette smoke is tied to metabolic function: they wanted to pinpoint the mechanism behind why smokers become insulin resistant. To carry out their study, they exposed lab mice to side-stream (or second-hand) smoke and followed their metabolic progression.

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“The lungs provide a vast interface with our environment and this research shows that a response to involuntary smoking includes altering systemic sensitivity to insulin,” Reynolds said. “Once someone becomes insulin resistant, their body needs more insulin. And any time you have insulin go up, you have fat being made in the body.”

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