Study shows that a bit of exercise can curb the smoking habit

Thursday, June 06, 2013 by: Antonia
Tags: teenage smoking, exercise, smoking cessation

(NaturalNews) A new study, published online April 9th in the Journal of Adolescent Health, revealed that a small amount of exercise each day can potentially rid, or at least cut down, the nasty habit of smoking.

Two-hundred and thirty-three high school students from 19 schools in West Virginia took part in the study. They were all daily smokers, with a one half to one pack a day habit.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 13% of people under the age of 18 in the state smoke. This ranks West Virginia near the top in terms of the number of smokers across the nation.

Smokers are often not 'health conscious' overall

Most teens who smoke also engage in other unhealthy, sometimes self-destructive behavior.

"It is not unusual for teenage smokers to engage in other unhealthy habits. Smoking and physical inactivity, for instance, often go hand in hand," study lead author Kimberly Horn, associate dean for research at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, in Washington, D.C., said in a university news release.

The teens in the study were divided into three groups. The group who increased their daily physical activity of at least 20 minutes with exercise equivalent to a short walk, "significantly reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked." They also took part in a smoking cessation program during the same period.

"This study adds to evidence suggesting that exercise can help teenagers who are trying to quit smoking," Horn said.

Other health habits for smoking cessation

There have been reports that people have just naturally lost the taste for cigarettes after undergoing a cleansing diet.

The raw, organic, vegan diet, for example, has helped individuals to quit in a casual, natural way. One theory is that as the body cleanses at a rapid rate from mostly water-based foods it loses its "ability" to handle the cigarette smoke.

Like beer, and soda, cigarettes are tough to "take" the first few times and for good reason. However, eventually the body succumbs to the foreign material, and essentially gets "used" to it. Well, it seems that a cleanse brings back the natural desire to "repel" the toxic substances.

Sources for this article include:

health.usnews.com

rawfoodhealthwatch.com

naturalnews.com

www.cdc.gov/tobacco/

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. >>> Click here to see more by Antonia