Relationship between smokeless tobacco use and body weight in young adult military recruits.

Long-time cigarette smokers tend to weigh less than nonsmokers, and those who quit smoking typically gain weight. Little is known, however, about the relationship between smokeless tobacco and body weight. The present study investigated the association between smokeless tobacco use and body weight among 22,974 Air Force recruits (27.4% female, mean age=20.2 years, body mass index=22.7) undergoing basic military training. Current, former, and experimental smokeless tobacco users weighed significantly more than recruits who had never tried smokeless tobacco (p values <.05). Logistic regression analysis also indicated that the likelihood of being classified as overweight was significantly greater for daily (OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.07-1.54), occasional (OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.17-1.93), former (OR=1.33, 95% CI=1.05-1.67), and experimental (OR=1.13, 95% CI=1.02-1.24) smokeless tobacco users relative to never-users (p values <.05). These results suggest that smokeless tobacco use does not have significant weight-attenuating effects, at least in the short term. Furthermore, using chewing tobacco or snuff may be associated with a greater body weight among young adults.