Multimedia Reporting (Fred-Musser)

The study, titled “Smoking, weight loss intention and obesity-promoting behaviors in college students”, was done at Watkins Memorial Health Center form 2003 to 2005. The study looked at 300 KU students smoking and weight related behaviors. Of the 300 students, 49 percent said they had smoked and about 18 percent defined themselves as regular smokers.

The original hypothesis of Shawna L. Carroll, a KU PhD student and the projects coordinator, was different from what the results showed.

“It was different from my original hypothesis that students smoked to lose weight.” Carroll said. “Instead smoking was part of a clustering of poor health behaviors in college students.”

The results showed that those who smoked indeed did want to lose weight. However, the smokers were more likely to eat high calorie food and were less likely to exercise. The relationship between unhealthy eating and smoking was a lot closer than many would believe. The study showed that the more cigarettes an individual smokes the more high calorie food they are likely to eat, according to Carroll.

“There is a dose response between fast food and smoking.” Carroll said.

The dose response also correlated with time spent exercising at the gym. The more cigarettes and fast food eaten the less often students exercised.

This discovery was a small part of a much bigger study called “Must DO” that was funded by the American Heart Association according to Carroll. Dr. Terry Huang, Health Scientist and Program Director for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, headed the “Must Do” study. The larger study looked at obesity behaviors in college-aged students at the University, with cigarette use being one component.

Kevin Walker, the Vice President of Advocacy for the American Heart Association, said that although it is illegal to market cigarettes to minors, cigarettes are still portrayed as cool.

“Cigarette and tobacco ad’s paint a glamorous picture of a smoker,” Walker said.

This is a problem, according to Walker, because most cigarette smokers start before the age of 18. According to a 2002 Center for Disease Control (CDC) study obesity rates for 18 to 29 year old Americans has almost doubled since 1990.

A CDC Study form 2002 shows the increase in obesity among 18 to 24 year olds.

Mary Jayne Hellebust, the Executive Director of Tobacco Free Kansas, says data from the CDC shows 21 percent of high school students in Kansas smoke.

“The overall smoking rate for adults is 19.6 percent,” Hellebust said. “The smoking rate for college students 18 to 24 in Kansas is 26.4 percent.”

With the rising levels of obesity and high levels of youth smoking the two unhealthy lifestyles are clustering. Although many young people plan on quitting smoking they find it harder than they originally planned, according to Hellebust.

“Someone who wants to quit and does successfully will try between seven and nine times over a period of a few years,” Hellebust said. “It is all about the individual and what works best for them whether it is medication, support groups, work with a physician.”

The results of this study could change the way could change they way that smoking prevention and intervention is done according to Carroll. After analyzing the research, Carroll believes, new interventions should be aware of the poor health choices clustering.

“Because poor health behaviors cluster, I recommend interventions that target the whole person,” Carroll said.

The interventions would include information on the importance of working out, an improved diet and an emphasis on quitting smoking, according to Carroll.

Walker says the idea of quitting smoking alone is only one part of reducing your health risks.

“Refraining from tobacco use, consumption of a healthy diet, and staying active all help control health risks,” Walker said.

According to the CDC more than one qaurter of 18 to 24 year old Americans smoke cigarettes.
Photo Source: London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames

Quitting smoking would make working out easier according to Don Gregory, Lawrence junior. Gregory said he began smoking with his friends in 2001 and has not quit yet. He said he exercised for the first three years of his smoking but began losing people to go to the gym with and eventually stopped going altogether.

“I definitely notice a difference,” Gregory said, “It’s harder to run.”

However Gregory does not believe that exercise would help him quit smoking, because he does most of hissmoking while drinking or out with friends. This is a common trend in smoking among young people according to Hellebust.

“Many people who smoke do so in certain social settings,” Hellebust said. “Behavioral changes and eliminating smoking from those is the key.”

Hellebust cited the Lawrence smoking ban at bars and restaurants as encouraging in the battle against college smoking, and hopes the pattern is continued nation wide.