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Cigarette smoking is associated with energy balance in premenopausal African-American adult women differently than in similarly aged white women

International Journal of Obesity volume 27, pages 1219–1226 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential association of cigarette smoking with energy balance in African-American and white premenopausal women.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of energy balance, weight, and smoking in women.

SUBJECT: A total of 374 women: 191 African-American (mean age=29.8±6.5 y) and 183 white women (mean age=28.9±7.1 y).

MEASUREMENTS: Weight, cigarette smoking habits, resting energy expenditure, dietary intake, and physical activity.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences in dietary intake by race or smoking status. The model for physical activity was significant (P=0.0004), with body mass index (BMI) having the largest effect on activity (P<0.001). Smoking status was related to activity, with the heaviest smokers reporting more activity than nonsmokers (P=0.008) or light smokers (P=0.028). The model for resting energy expenditure (REE) was significant (P<0.0001), with the largest again being BMI (P<0.001). There was also an interaction between ethnicity and smoking status (P<0.0001) such that African-American nonsmokers and light smokers tended to have lower REE than several other groups, most often the African-American moderate heavy smokers. The model for BMI was significant (P<0.0001) with an interaction for ethnicity and smoking status (P=0.0009). African-American nonsmokers and light smokers had significantly higher BMIs than most of the other groups.

CONCLUSION: African-American women who were the heaviest smokers had a lower adjusted BMI than the heaviest smoking white women. This effect, at least partially, may be related to an increased REE in the African-American smoking women. While energy intake did not appear to be important in this relationship, energy expended in physical activity appeared to be increased with smoking, as was REE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Consumer Science and Education, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    L H Clemens

  2. Center for Community Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    R C Klesges & D L Slawson

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, Memphis, TN, USA

    A J Bush

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  1. L H Clemens
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  2. R C Klesges
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  3. D L Slawson
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  4. A J Bush
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L H Clemens.

Additional information

This work was supported by funds from the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute HL50946 awarded to the first author and HL463521 awarded to the second author.

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Clemens, L., Klesges, R., Slawson, D. et al. Cigarette smoking is associated with energy balance in premenopausal African-American adult women differently than in similarly aged white women. Int J Obes 27, 1219–1226 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802400

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