Interaction of stress, smoking, and dietary restraint in women

Smoking cessation often results in weight gain but certain subtypes of smokers may be more likely than others to gain weight. Women high in dietary restraint ("restrainers") increase food intake and gain more weight than nonrestrainers during smoking cessation. Restrainers have also been reported to increase food intake following laboratory stressors. Therefore, the present study was designed to measure the influence of stress on food intake and subjective distress during acute smoking abstinence in restrained and nonrestrained women. Participants were 48 women, 18-40 years old, comprising six groups (n = 8 per group) in a 2 x 3 x 2 design. Groups consisted of two levels of restraint (restrained and nonrestrained) and three levels of smoking (ad lib. smokers, abstinent smokers, and nonsmokers), whereas the within-participant manipulation involved two sessions differing in stress (stress and control). Snack foods were available for consumption. Results showed that distress, measured by the Stress-Arousal Checklist and visual analogue measures of tension and anxiety, was higher in the stress session for all groups except for restrainers who smoked ad lib. Furthermore, distress was significantly higher in smoke-abstinent restrainers during the stress session than all other conditions. However, despite differences in distress, no effect was observed for food intake. Desire for a cigarette showed a sharper increase over the stress session for restrainers compared with nonrestrainers but did not differ in the control session. These data suggest that restrainers may use smoking to reduce distress and may increase smoking, but not eating, during stress.