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Why do we put on weight after we quit smoking?
By jeremyc | September 26, 2011
If you want to quit smoking, it will definitely bring you a lot rewards as far as the emotional aspects of your life are concerned. But a few days ago, new research conducted by the researchers in the Yale University have come up with the reasons behind smokers becoming fat after quitting smoking. The Yale University researchers conducted experiments on mice. Through these experiments they found that the nicotine activates neurons located in the hypothalamus region of the human brain which sends the ‘I am full’ message to the entire body, which in turn helps in regulating the dieting habits of a human body.
The Yale University team led by psychiatrist Marina Picciotto found that nicotine also binds with the receptors which act as appetite-regulating neurons which do not get involved in addicting the human brain to smoking. The Yale University School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston performed a combination of molecular, pharmacological, behavioral and genetic experiments on mice. Thereafter, they found that nicotine influences the human body’s hypothalamic melanocortin system which is the collection of central nervous system circuits.
According to Marina Picciotto nicotine hijacks various neural circuits in the brain which are involved in the reward region of the human brain responsible for nicotine addiction. The receptors which aid nicotine addiction increase the activity of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, known for their effects on obesity in humans and animals. This is the reason why people become skinny while they are on the habit and tend to put on weight as soon as they quit smoking.
By understanding the link between nicotine and obesity can lead to the discovery of new drugs that target the nicotine receptors on appetite-controlling cells, giving smokers a way to quit without the weight gain. But Marian Picciotto affirms the fact that these kinds of drugs may be helpful in controlling the nicotine intake by a human body, but they increase the chances of high blood pressure and weakening the function of the human heart. Since the nicotine receptors are closely linked to a human body’s fight-or-flight stress response, activating those receptors brings havoc for the human body including its heart.
In the experiment conducted by Marina Picciotto and her team from the Yale University School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, they found that when the mouse was subjected to nicotine, one lacking the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) pathway did not lose weight. On the other hand, the mice with the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) pathway did lose weight.
Marina Picciotto stresses on the fact that the fear of weight gain should not keep anyone from leaving the nicotine habit. Smoking invites diseases like blood pressure, stroke and also heart attack to a human body.
Topics: | Smoking Cessation |
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