Adolescent males who smoke tend to be shorter than those who abstain, and young female smokers are no more likely to lose weight than nonsmokers, according to Canadian researchers.

The Canadian Press reported March 25 that University of Montreal researchers tracked 1,293 teens ages 12-17 on their smoking habits, weight, and height. Lead author Jennifer O'Laughlin said the findings about weight loss were especially surprising since even researchers believed that smokers tend to lose weight.

Adolescent boys who smoked were an average of 2.54 centimeters shorter than their nonsmoking peers, the researchers found.

The study was published online in the Annals of Epidemiology.