January 6, 2010

Study: Quitting Smoking Raises Diabetes Risk

By Kelley Luckstein

People who quit smoking are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes after they kick the habit, most likely due to post-quitting weight gain, a new study has found…The study, which was published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, followed nearly 11,000 middle-aged people without diabetes—45% of whom were smokers—over a nine-year period…

 

Richard D. Hurt, MD, director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., recommends that people who quit smoking stick to small portions of low-fat, low-calorie foods. They should also get moving, he adds.

 

“Even just moderate exercise—like 30 minutes of brisk walking—reduces the urges to smoke and reduces withdrawal symptoms,” he says. “People are able to distract themselves, it makes them feel better, and it uses up some of the calories.”

 

Health.com, by Sarah Klein, 1/4/10

 

Additional coverage: CNN Health

Tags: diabetes risks, Nicotine Dependence Center, smoking

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