The effects of smoking on weight, Drug abuse and weight

Original content:

Alcohol, Drugs and Weight Gain or Loss: What the Research Says

Drug abuse and weight

Taking recreational, illegal, and even prescription drugs inappropriately can lead to substance abuse disorders. For the purposes of this guide, a drug is defined as a chemical substance that alters the activity of the brain as well as processes in the body [1]. Drugs often affect people differently, but the harmful side effects that most drugs cause may lead to irreversible health problems, damage and in some cases, death. This guide will focus on commonly abused drugs that negatively impact people’s lives and health.

The effects of smoking on weight

The nicotine contained in cigarette smoke is itself an addictive psychoactive substance. Furthermore, the fact that the rates of cigarette smoking tend to be higher in the demographic of alcohol and substance abusers makes its discussion here particularly germane.

Smoking is a harmful habit that reduces blood circulation to vital organs, increases the risk of developing heart disease, and speeds up the progression of heart disease in people who already have it [12].

Individuals who smoke heavily may also begin to lose their appetite due to heightened nicotine cravings [13]. This, however, is not healthy weight loss as a person may simply skip one or more meals and decide to smoke instead. Although the individual is losing weight, the body is not being provided with an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals and this often results in unexpected health problems.

Some individuals actually gain weight after they begin smoking because they become more sedentary while smoking, eat higher calorie foods and exercise less [14].

A serious problem that often occurs when an individual stops smoking is rapid weight gain, but this appears to be mostly associated with substituting food for smoking, especially when nicotine cravings begin [15]. The prospect of weight gain frequently discourages people from quitting, but those who do not quit risk suffering from even more serious conditions such as [13, 16]:

• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• Lung disease
• Ling cancer
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Atherosclerosis
• Erectile dysfunction in males
• Reproductive problems in females
• An increased risk of death

To be clear, the risks associated with smoking far outweigh the possible weight gain that may occur if an individual quits smoking. Furthermore, with support and discipline many people have successfully quit smoking without experiencing significant weight gain. Avoiding smoking altogether is one of the best ways to prevent unhealthy weight loss or gain.

The effects of drug abuse on weight

Recreational, illicit, and prescription medication all influence various mental processes. Certain drugs may cause temporary cognitive impairments after taking just a single dose. If this happens a person may forget to eat properly, begin to lose weight and develop dangerously low blood sugar. Individuals who begin to abuse drugs may eventually suffer from permanent impairments in brain activity as well as physical changes that lead to dramatic weight loss and poor health.

For our discussion, we’ve broadly categorized three types of drugs commonly taken by adolescents and adults. These include: depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens.

Depressants

Depressants refer to substances that can slow normal processes in the body and reduce physical activity by altering the manner in which the brain sends and receives signals. Alcohol, marijuana (cannabis) and opiates such as morphine, codeine, heroin, methadone, hydrocodone (e.g. Lortab, Norco) and oxycodone (e.g. OxyContin) are all categorized here as depressants.

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:  DSM-IV. 4th ed. Washington DC: Author; 2000.
2. Zimatkin SM, bon' EI. The effects of alcohol on the developing brain. Morfologiia. 2014;145(2):79-88.
3. Haseba T. Molecular evidences of non-ADH pathway in alcohol metabolism and Class III alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH3). Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai Zasshi. 2014; 49(3):159-68
4. Swanson GR, Sedghi S, Farhadi A, Keshavarzian A. Pattern of alcohol consumption and its effect on gastrointestinal symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease. Alcohol. 2010; 44(3):223-8.
5. Stickel F, Seitz HK. Update on the management of alcoholic steatohepatitis. J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2013; 22(2):189-97.
6. González-Reimers E, Santolaria-Fernández F, Martín-González MC, Fernández-Rodríguez CM, Quintero-Platt G. Alcoholism: A systemic proinflammatory condition. World J Gastroenterol. 2014; 20(40):14660-14671.
7. Calder PC, Albers R, Antoine JM, Blum S, Bourdet-Sicard R, Ferns GA, Folkerts G, Friedmann PS, Frost GS, Guarner F, Løvik M, Macfarlane S, Meyer PD, M'Rabet L, Serafini M, van Eden W, van Loo J, Vas Dias W, Vidry S, Winklhofer-Roob BM, Zhao J. Inflammatory disease processes and interactions with nutrition. Br J Nutr. 2009 May;101 Suppl 1:S1-45.
8. Waugh N, Scotland G, McNamee P, Gillett M, Brennan A, Goyder E, Williams R, John A. Screening for type 2 diabetes: literature review and economic modelling. Health Technol Assess. 2007; 11(17):1-125.
9. Moreno-Indias I, Cardona F, Tinahones FJ, Queipo-Ortuño MI. Impact of the gut microbiota on the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Front Microbiol. 2014; 5:190.
10. Barry KL, Caetano R, Chang G, DeJoseph MC, Miller LA, O’Connor MJ, et al. Reducing Alcohol- Exposed Pregnancies: A Report of the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2009.
11. Pfinder M. Anthropometric and health-related behavioral factors in the explanation of social inequalities in low birth weight in children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014; 11(1):849-65.
12. Otsuka R, Watanabe H, Hirata K, Tokai K, Muro T, Yoshiyama M, Takeuchi K, Yoshikawa J. Acute effects of passive smoking on the coronary circulation in healthy young adults. JAMA. 2001; 286(4):436-41.
13. Moylan S1, Jacka FN, Pasco JA, Berk M. Cigarette smoking, nicotine dependence and anxiety disorders: a systematic review of population-based, epidemiological studies. BMC Med. 2012; 10:123.
14. Carroll SL, Lee RE, Kaur H, Harris KJ, Strother ML, Huang TT. Smoking, weight loss intention and obesity-promoting behaviors in college students. J Am Coll Nutr. 2006; 25(4):348-53.
15. Komiyama M1, Wada H, Ura S, Yamakage H, Satoh-Asahara N, Shimatsu A, Koyama H, Kono K, Takahashi Y, Hasegawa K. Analysis of factors that determine weight gain during smoking cessation therapy. PLoS One. 2013; 8(8):e72010.
16. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014.
17. Bell JR, Butler B, Lawrance A, Batey R, Salmelainen P. Comparing overdose mortality associated with methadone and buprenorphine treatment. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009; 104(1-2): 73-7.
18. Fishbain DA, Cole B, Lewis J, Rosomoff HL, Rosomoff RS. What percentage of chronic nonmalignant pain patients exposed to chronic opioid analgesic therapy develop abuse/addiction and/or aberrant drug-related behaviors? A structured evidence-based review. Pain Med. 2008; 9(4): 444-459.
19. Lundqvist T. Cognitive consequences of cannabis use: comparison with abuse of stimulants and heroin with regard to attention, memory and executive functions. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2005; 81(2):319-30.
20. McCabe SE1, West BT, Schepis TS, Teter CJ. Simultaneous co-ingestion of prescription stimulants, alcohol and other drugs: a multi-cohort national study of US adolescents. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2014; in press.
21. Mørland J. Toxicity of drug abuse--amphetamine designer drugs (ecstasy): mental effects and consequences of single dose use. Toxicol Lett. 2000; 112-113:147-52.
22. Ersche KD, Stochl J, Woodward JM, Fletcher PC. The skinny on cocaine: insights into eating behavior and body weight in cocaine-dependent men. Appetite. 2013; 71:75-80.
23. Brust JC. Neurologic complications of illicit drug abuse. Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2014; 20(3 Neurology of Systemic Disease):642-56.
24. Vittoria Matassini M, Krahn AD, Gardner M, Champagne J, Sanatani S, Birnie DH, Gollob MH, Chauhan V, Simpson CS, Hamilton RM, Talajic M, Ahmad K, Gerull B, Chakrabarti S, Healey JS. Evolution of clinical diagnosis in patients presenting with unexplained cardiac arrest or syncope due to polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Heart Rhythm. 2014; 11(2):274-81.
25. Ruetsch O, Viala A, Bardou H, Martin P, Vacheron MN. Psychotropic drugs induced weight gain: a review of the literature concerning epidemiological data, mechanisms and management. Encephale. 2005; 31(4 Pt 1):507-16.
26. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of selected prescription drugs – United States, 2004–2008. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010; 59:705-709.
27. Brick J. Handbook of the medical consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. New York, NY: The Haworth Press; 2004.

About the Author

Dr. Karen Vieira, PhD MSM

Dr. Vieira is a research scientist with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. She has done clinical and laboratory research on diseases, cellular functioning and nutritional supplements. Her focus is helping people make dietary and lifestyle changes that prevent, cure or improve health conditions.