Obesity or Smoking?

Obesity or Smoking?

It has previously been stated by a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spokesperson that, "A nation with an expanding waistline is in far better shape than one with a cigarette in its mouth."

And while smoking is certainly dangerous to one's health, when it comes to choosing the less harmful of two evils: Obesity does appear to be worse when it comes to accelerating the aging process and decreasing the time that you will remain on this planet.

Study of Telomeres

Researchers compared the length of telomeres -- the ends of chromosomes -- in the white blood cells of some 1,100 women ages 18-76. When a cell divides, its telomere loses a small piece of DNA; when it becomes too short, cells can no longer divide. Thus, telomere shortening acts as a sign of aging, counting down the cellular generations.

After calculating the amount of telomere shortening in the women, researchers compared the chromosomes based on lifestyle factors such as smoking habits and obesity. The results showed:

• Obese women were almost nine years older, genetically, than their counterparts.

• Those who smoked aged about half as slowly (4.6 years) as obese patients.

• Both obesity and smoking worked synergistically to age a patient even faster -- by at least a decade -- than a lean non-smoker.

• What's more, the effects are set in stone. In other words, while losing weight and quitting smoking reduce the rate of telomere loss, it cannot restore them.

Role of Free Radicals

Researchers speculate telomere damage is probably done by free radicals. That's because both smoking and obesity cause oxidative stress, a source of free radicals. Free radicals play a role in DNA mutations, and there is some evidence that mutations in telomeres cause larger chunks than normal to be lost during cell division.

Further, animal studies have not established any simple relationship between telomere length and lifespan; therefore, it's possible that shortened telomeres are merely a sign of how much free radical damage cells have suffered, rather than a direct cause of aging.

~The Lancet June 14, 2005 (Registration Required)

~New Scientist June 14, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

I have long-held the position that stopping grains and sugar, for most people, is far more important than quitting smoking. While this seems to contradict long held tenets in preventive medicine, there are increasingly large numbers of studies that support this position.

When I consult with patients for their health challenges, I never advise them to stop smoking first. That recommendation is always reserved for later when they are feeling better and have their insulin and leptin levels stabilized with the proper diet.

However, while the inactivity and sugar consumption that cause obesity do appear to be worse for you than smoking, your body is not adapted to either of them.

So, while many Americans appear to have given up smoking in exchange for consuming grains and sugars, the goal should be eliminating both of them from your life.

Lastly, if you do choose to continue smoking, the worst part of the average cigarette isn't tobacco. Bulking agents like paper, cotton, menthol, starches and other flavorings can cause more problems. Burning and inhaling them creates most of the constituents -- tar and carbon -- that have been shown to cause cancer, as well as your addiction to nicotine.