It was previously believed that the best approach to fostering smoking cessation among weight-concerned women was to help them prevent any weight gain after they quit smoking.

But researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found this assumption incorrect. Instead, their study found that directly reducing concerns about weight, rather than preventing weight gain itself, is what will help women to quit smoking.

Researchers placed 219 randomly selected women who smoked and were concerned about gaining weight into one of three smoking-cessation groups.

The first group received standard smoking-cessation therapy, where weight gain was not explicitly addressed. The second group of women received the same program plus diet advice to prevent weight gain. The third group received the standard smoking-cessation program and therapy to reduce their concerns about gaining weight, but dieting was discouraged.

One year after the study, researchers reported that 21 percent of the women who received therapy to calm their concerns about weight gain had completely quit smoking with no relapses, compared to 13 percent of the weight-control group, and 9 percent of the standard-therapy group.

While all the women in the study gained weight after quitting smoking, the women in the group receiving therapy to address their concerns about weight gained the least amount of weight.

"Quitting smoking tends to be harder for women than for men, and part of this disparity is attributable to women's greater fear of gaining a lot of weight if they quit, " said NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner. "It would be an important clinical advance if we find a way to successfully address those concerns, making it easier for more women to stop smoking."

The study is published in the August issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

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