It’s the one thing that keeps many smokers from quitting: the fear of gaining weight. Although studies show the average quitter gains less than ten pounds, it is a deterrent for many thinking about kicking the habit.
“I know I need to quit, but I really am afraid of gaining weight,” Renee Polort said. “It’s tough to quit to begin with and then you think about adding pounds and it easily becomes something you can put off.”
Now new research may help scientists develop a drug that can help smokers quit and keep the weight off. Smoking cessation researchers have found a specific pathway in mice that shows how smoking can suppress appetites.
Led by Yale School of Medicine, the research team found that a specific type of brain nicotine receptor in the hypothalamus, a brain center that controls feeding, allows nicotine to reduce food intake in laboratory mice.
Senior author Dr Marina Picciotto, the Charles B.G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry, and professor of neurobiology and pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine says, “We found that nicotine reduced eating and body fat through receptors implicated in nicotine aversion and withdrawal rather than reward and reinforcement.” He went on to say, “Ultimately, we would like to help people maintain their body weight when they kick the habit and perhaps help non-smokers who are struggling with obesity.”
While more research is needed, Picciotto believes it is the first step in developing new medications.
“These results indicate that medications that specifically target this pathway could alleviate nicotine withdrawal as well as reduce the risk of overeating during smoking cessation.”
The new study was published this week in the online journal Science.
About Zyban
Right now Zyban is the hot new medication designed to help smokers quit. It is approved by the FDA and doesn’t force a smoker to quit cold turkey. A smoker can take the pill while they are smoking and slowly wean themselves off cigarettes. Zyban can be taken after a smoker kicks the habit to help deal with cravings.
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