Smoking Reduces Calorie Intake, Study Reveals

A study indicates that smoking reduces calorie intake. It is controlled by its effect on levels of hormone ghrelin known as the hunger hormone.

The findings of the study were presented at European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress on September 5, 2016. It was led by Dr. Konstantina Zacchari and colleagues from Harokopio University Athens in Greece in collaboration with Athens Medical School Greece, according to Science Daily. The researchers said that smoking causes a drop in ghrelin. This makes the hunger levels down leading to a reduction in food (thus, calories) consumed.

The study involved 14 healthy males who underwent two trials after abstaining from smoking and food. The researchers asked them to smoke two cigarettes from their brand of choice in the first trial. The second trial, which is referred to as the control trial, the participants simply held a cigarette as if smoking it. The trials were set for 15 minutes.

After forty-five minutes, they were given the freedom to consume food they want to eat. The team recorded the dietary intake, appetite feelings, and craving for smoking of each participant. They also collected samples of blood to test for the hormones ghrelin, insulin, obestatin GLP-1 and CCK.

The results showed a drop in dietary intake, which resulted in a reduced intake of 152 calories. Furthermore, the plasma ghrelin concentrations were lower after the control trial, according to Tech Times.

Dr. Zacchari said that in their small study, they found that smoking had an acute effect on energy intake that could be mediated by alterations in ghrelin levels. She further said that study is needed to examine whether these results would be duplicated in a broader study population. "We also need to investigate other potential biological mediators and ways to balance post-cessation weight gain in order to achieve higher smoking cessation rates and lower relapse rates."