Youths who smoke eat poorly, exercise too little, VCU research indicates

By Lorraine Cichowski and Diane Baer Wilson

RICHMOND, Va. – Youths who smoke -- particularly girls in high school -- are less likely to eat vegetables and dairy products and exercise than non-smokers, according to research by Virginia Commonwealth University.

In a study of youths who participate in state-sponsored tobacco prevention programs, the VCU researchers found that high school smokers were significantly less likely to eat one or more servings per day of milk/dairy products and to exercise three or more times per week than non-smokers. Middle and high school girls were significantly less likely to consume one or more vegetables per day compared with non-smokers. Middle-school students were significantly less likely than non-smokers to exercise three or more times per week.

The findings were presented today (March 25) at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Baltimore, Md.

Tobacco use, poor diet and lack of exercise are the leading preventable causes of death in the United States. 

“The combination of smoking and poor diet/less exercise together may place teens at higher risk for developing chronic diseases later in life than either behavior alone,” said Diane Baer Wilson, EdD, MS, RD, associate professor of internal medicine and the lead author of the study.

According to Wilson, 23 percent of high school students smoke, and many teens do not meet the U.S. standards for eating healthy, nutrient dense foods.

“This study provides strong evidence for addressing multiple risk behaviors simultaneously, such as smoking prevention and healthy eating/exercise, in adolescent interventions and introducing this model in the middle school years,” she said.

Wilson was a research investigator on the team that evaluated 8,022 middle school students and 2,613 high school students enrolled in tobacco prevention programs funded by the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation. The foundation was created by the General Assembly in 1999 to distribute part of the money Virginia will receive from tobacco product manufacturers under a Master Settlement Agreement.