... and smoking won’t keep you slim after all

SMOKERS are more at risk of weight gain than those who do not smoke, research suggests.

Despite a long association with giving up smoking and gaining weight, evidence shows that smokers eat an extra 200 calories a day.

A team from Yale and Fairfield University in Connecticut compared the calorie intakes of daily smokers, non-daily smokers and non-smokers.

They found that daily smokers, who consumed 2.02 calories per gram, had diets high in energy density – meaning they ate less food containing more calories. Non- smokers consumed 1.7 calories per gram, while non-daily smokers fell between the two groups, consuming 1.84 calories per gram.

It may be the case that smokers are less concerned with being healthy, so pay less attention to their diet.

The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, says smokers’ diets could put them at higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Nearly one in seven people in Britain still smokes, despite numbers falling since the 2007 ban on smoking in public places.

Dr Jacqueline Vernarelli, from Fairfield University, said: ‘Addressing energy density in diets of current smokers may be a good target for interventions as part of a larger smoking cessation plan.’