Tobacco.org

News briefs from the May issue of Chest 

"WEIGHT LOSS GENE" MAY KEEP SMOKERS THIN

Research has shown that smokers weigh less and have less body fat than nonsmokers, and now scientists may know the reason why. A research team from Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York used several different assays to evaluate the levels of alpha2-zinc-glycoprotein1 (AZGP1), a gene linked to weight loss, in 37 healthy nonsmokers and 55 healthy smokers. All test results showed that AZGP1 levels were higher in smokers than nonsmokers. Although researchers could not directly prove that smoking-induced increases in AZGP1 are sufficient to mediate weight loss, they speculate that the increased AZGP1 levels in smokers could be one mechanism contributing to the weight difference between smokers and nonsmokers. This study is published in the May issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Jump to full article »