Use of Tobacco for Weight Control across Products among Young Adults in the U.S. Military

Abstract

Background: Approximately 17% of young adults currently use tobacco, most commonly cigarettes and/or electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), followed by other products (i.e., cigarillos, pipe/hookah, smokeless tobacco). Cigarettes have been historically used to control weight. Little is known about use of non-cigarette products for weight control, particularly among non-college young adults. Tobacco use in the military is higher than civilians, and personnel have increased motivation for weight control due to military fitness standards. This population might be vulnerable to use tobacco for this purpose. Purpose: Exploring prevalence, as well as demographic and behavioral correlates, of using tobacco products for weight control, among a large, diverse sample of military young adults. Methods: U.S. Air Force recruits (N = 24,543) completed a questionnaire about tobacco use. Among users of tobacco products, recruits reported if they had ever used that product to maintain their weight. Results: Smokeless tobacco was most commonly used for weight control (12.2%), followed by cigarettes (7.3%), e-cigarettes (5.5%), cigarillos (3.3%), and hookah/pipe (3.2%). Using tobacco for weight control was associated with fewer harm beliefs and more regular use of that product. Among e-cigarette users, having a higher BMI and a lower educational background was associated with ever using this product for weight control. Conclusions: The belief that a tobacco product helps control one’s weight might increase the prevalence, and frequency of use, of that product among military young adults. Tobacco cessation programs should assess for this motivation of use and provide education about tobacco harm and alternative strategies for weight maintenance.

Keywords:

• Weight control
• nicotine
• dieting

Acknowledgments

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official views or policy of the Department of Defense, or its Components, or the National Institutes of Health. The voluntary, fully informed consent of the subjects used in this research was obtained as required by 32 CFR 219 and DODI 3216.02_AFI 40-402. Finally, we would like to thank the participants and the research team for their dedication to the research.

Declaration of interest

Authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Author contributions

Margaret C. Fahey conducted literature searchers, provided summaries of previous research, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Melissa A. Little designed the study, wrote the protocol, and was involved in data collection. Robert C. Klesges, G.W. Talcott, Phyllis A. Richey, and Rebecca A. Krukowski designed the study and wrote the protocol. Mehmet Kocak conducted the statistical analysis. All authors edited and reviewed the manuscript. All authors approve and verify the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by grants (DA043468, DA036510, DA036510-S1, DA037273, DK107747) from the National Institutes of Health.