Effect of Exercise Activity and Food Consumption Behavior on the Success of Smoking Cessation Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION[|]Food and beverage preferences and exercise activities suppress the desire to smoke and extend the cessation period. The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of food consumption and physical activities on the success of a smoking cessation program.[¤]METHODS[|]In our retrospective cohort study, demographics, smoking cessation therapy features, levels of addiction, treatment results, food preferred in case of desire to smoke during follow-up, and physical activities of 119 patients monitored within the scope of smoking cessation program in our site were recorded. The data of the groups with successful and unsuccessful smoking cessation were analyzed by comparison.[¤]RESULTS[|]The successful group had more patients who quit smoking within the first one month in the treatment process and gained weight than the unsuccessful group (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Compared to the successful group, the unsuccessful group recorded a higher level of addiction and relapse (p=0.04, p=0.001, respectively). The use of varenicline and nicotine gum among pharmacological treatments did not differ between groups, nicotine patch was more frequently used higher in the unsuccessful group (p=0.046). The successful group also had more patients who consumed hedonic diet among the behavioral strategies in case of urge to smoke (p=0.04).[¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]The preference for hedonic foods in case of urge to smoke in patients who underwent smoking cessation treatment and implementing multiple strategies are associated with the success of the treatment, unlike exercise activity. This study may provide preliminary support for an eating strategy using a dietary plan and multi-strategy for the success of smoking cessation programs.[¤]

Keywords

• behavioral strategy
• exercise activity; hedonic diet; smoking cessation.