Resistance training can not only build strength: it might be another tool to help smokers quit the habit, according to the results of a recent study on that measured the effects of resistance training on smoking cessation efforts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 46 million adults - about one out of five people in the United States -- identified themselves as smokers in 2009. On average, smoking costs the United States $193 billion each year in terms of health care expenses and a loss in productivity.

While most earlier studies on exercise have been shown to cut down on the negative experiences of smoking cessation such such as cravings, withdrawal symptoms and weight gain, many of these studies focused on female smokers and then only on aerobic exercise. In contrast, the recent study conducted by The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine in Rhode Island included both male and female participants and focused on resistance training exercise.

The results of the study, published in the August 2011 online issue of the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, found that both male and female smokers who completed a 12-week resistance training program in conjunction with a standard smoking cessation treatment program were twice as likely to quit successfully when compared to those who did not regularly perform resistance exercise as part of their smoking cessation program.

In a pilot study, 25 male and female smokers between 18 and 65 who reported smoking at least five cigarettes a day for the past year or more were selected. Participants  averaged 36.5 years of age and 19.1 years of smoking. Each participant received a 15-20 minute smoking cessation counseling session and an 8-week supply of a nicotine patch before being randomized into two groups. The resistance training group performed two, hour-long training sessions each week for 12 weeks. The full-body routine involved 10 exercises in which researchers increased weight and intensity every three weeks. Participants in a control group were shown a brief health and wellness video two times a week.

Assessments were conducted at a baseline, 3-month, and a 6-month follow-up point.

At the end of the 12-week program, 16 percent of smokers in the resistance training group had quit smoking and had reduced body weight and body fat. In comparison, 8 percent of individuals in the control group had quit smoking, but had also shown an increase in weight and body fat.

At the 3-month assessment point, objectively verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) rates were 46% for the resistance training group and 17% among the control group.

At the 3-month follow up point, 15% of those in the resistance training group had successfully maintained their quit attempt compared to 8% of the control group.

While this is believed to be the first such study reporting on the effects of resistance exercise on smoking cessation efforts, the researchers believe there is room for more research. "The findings suggest that such a program is feasible as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation," wrote the authors of the pilot study, who added concluded that "an adequately powered trial is warranted."

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