Walking for a Cure, Teens can Quit Smoking with Exercise

A new study shows that those lighting up more tend to be working out less. That's right. Scientists from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) report that teen smokers who upped the number of days they exercised for 20 minutes didn't smoke as much as teens who weren't active. As a matter of fact, some teens who smoked and dually participated in fitness programs were able to kick their nicotine habit all together.

The study involved 233 teen smokers that attended 19 high schools in West Virginia, which has one of the highest teen smoking rates and lowest physical activity rates in the United States. On average, the participants smoke one pack of cigarettes a day.

A high school group was split into three teams. One group enrolled in an anti-smoking program paired with a fitness component. Another group went through just the anti-smoking program and another group only listened to an anti-smoking lecture. Although the researchers found that all of the groups reported exercising more to some degree, the teens who reported increasing the number of days they were physically active for 20 minutes or more - by taking, for example, a moderately long walk - significantly cut back on their smoking.

"We don't fully understand the clinical relevance of ramping up daily activity to 20 or 30 minutes a day with these teens. But we do know that even modest improvements in exercise may have health benefits. Our study supports the idea that encouraging one healthy behavior can serve to promote another, and it shows that teens, often viewed as resistant to behavior change, can tackle two health behaviors at once," said lead study author Kimberly Horn, an associate dean of research at SPHHS in a statement, according to TIME.

In a previous, but similar study published in the journal Pediatrics titled "Effects of Physical Activity on Teen Smoking Cessation," Horn found that teens who exercised were more likely to quit, and boys had better success in kicking the habit when they were working out than girls.

"We're very hopeful that it may not require a big dose of extra time to get these kids thinking about changing their physical activity behaviors and their smoking behavior at the same time. In these times of tight funding and limited resources, if we can target two health behaviors with a single intervention, then we can make a great impact on health and health economics."

Researchers note that more research is needed to determine whether this study applies to more adolescents, and more importantly, to figure out what aspects of physical activity contribute to smoking cessation. However, if additional studies support the fact that exercise can contribute to helping teens quit smoking, it could be a cost effective addition to existing cessation methods.