How Much Does Quitting Smoking Decrease the Metabolism?
Quitting smoking decreases the body’s metabolism, which often leads to weight gain. The effect is mild and depends on the number of cigarettes the person smoked per day.Effect of NicotineNicotine from cigarette smoking stimulates the central nervous system, increasing heart rate and the body’s metabolic rate, which helps burn calories.Effect of QuittingAccording to smokefree.gov, the Tobacco Research and Intervention Program at the University of South Florida has shown smoking cessation returns the body’s metabolism to normal levels. The more cigarettes smoked per day, the greater the decrease in metabolism after cessation. The average smoker gains 4 to 10 pounds after quitting.Contrary EvidenceAccording to a study in the “Journal of Applied Psychology” cited by vanderbilt.edu, smokers and nonsmokers have very similar resting metabolic rates, and this rate declines very little after quitting. In and of itself, not using nicotine shouldn’t lead to drastic weight gain, but behavioral fac
