Apples for Health- Diagnosis spurs smoking cessation, dieting

Diagnosis spurs smoking cessation, dieting

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. adults appear more likely to quit smoking or lose weight once they are diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes, researchers say.

Patricia S. Keenan of Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of middle-age and older adults. A total of 20,221 overweight or obese individuals younger than 75 years and 7,764 smokers were surveyed at least twice between 1992 and 2000.

Over the course of the surveys, 18 percent of the smokers quit and the average body mass index increased by 0.04 units in the overweight and obese group. About 13 percent of smokers were diagnosed with stroke, cancer, lung disease, heart disease or diabetes, while 8 percent of overweight or obese individuals received a diagnosis of lung disease, heart disease or diabetes.

"Smokers had 3.2 times the odds of quitting if they had received at least one of the five diagnoses versus no new diagnoses," Keenan said in a statement. "The overweight or obese individuals who were diagnosed with lung disease, heart disease or diabetes lost an average of 2 to 3 pounds more than those who were not diagnosed with any of these conditions."

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found changes were particularly pronounced in smokers with stroke, cancer or heart disease and in overweight individuals with diabetes mellitus.