Girls' Weight Concerns May Lead To Smoking

Girls concerned about their weight face several risks, including low self-esteem and eating disorders. But one risk that many people aren't aware of is that of smoking.

Concern about weight and the drive to be thin increase the risk a girl will become a daily smoker by the time she's 18 or 19 years old, according to a new study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

The study found that other factors early in life also increased the risk of later smoking, including stress, a parent with high school or less education, being from a one-parent household, drinking alcohol, poor academic performance, and poor conduct.

Each factor affected the risk to differing degrees in different races, but weight concerns increased the risk for both black and white girls.

The study, which appears in the June issue of Preventive Medicine, was led by Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. Carolyn Voorhees. She collaborated with researchers in Berkeley, Calif., Cincinnati, Rockville, Md., and Baltimore.

"Many of the factors identified in this study as increasing girls' risk of becoming smokers were not even on our radar screens 10 years ago, and the drive for thinness among black girls has not been previously reported," Voorhees said.

The researchers also found:

• White girls were more likely than black girls to become daily smokers, while black girls were more likely than white girls to become experimental or occasional smokers.
• For black girls, weight concerns and a drive for thinness at ages 11-12 were the most important factors leading to daily smoking at ages 18-19.
• For white girls, in addition to weight concerns at ages 11-12, poor conduct and stress at those ages and having a one-parent household were the most important factors leading to daily smoking at ages 18-19.

"The findings show that we need to offer young teenage girls healthy ways of controlling their weight and dealing with stress," said Dr. Eva Obarzanek with the NHLBI. "But we also must provide smoking prevention and cessation programs through schools, community, and other outlets."

National surveys show that teenage smoking, especially among whites, is on the rise, with the biggest increase being among high school seniors. More than 3,000 young people start smoking each day, according to government estimates.

Current predictions are that, in the United States, more than 5 million of today's young smokers will go on to die of a tobacco-related illness.