Young women who smoke gain three times as much weight as non-smokers

Many people think smoking curbs appetite, but now research has found that young women who smoke actually gain three times as much weight as non-smokers.

Surveys have suggested young women say they smoke to control weight, but no previous study has tested if smokers gain less weight.

Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute in the U.S. tracked 400 young women over two years. The smokers gained significantly more weight than non-smokers after taking into account weight at the start of the study, parental obesity, and other factors - 6 lbs (2.9 kg) compared to 2 lbs (0.9 kg) for non-smokers.

The researchers said their results, published in the journal Appetite, challenged the belief that smoking is an effective weight-control strategy, but added a larger trial was needed to understand why the smokers gained more.