Physical activity may prevent adolescents from smoking

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in childhood may prevent 60% of 13-year-olds from smoking their first cigarette, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Bristol monitored more than 2,500 children from the age of 11 to 24. By the age of 13, 1.5% of them begun smoking. This rose to 13.5% at 15 and 26.6% at 24.

Compared to the 1.5% average, just 0.6% of 13-year-olds who took part in MVPA had started smoking. The study said: ‘In other words, the risk of starting tobacco smoking may be prevented in 60% of 13-year-olds who would have taken their first tobacco puff because of childhood participation in MVPA.’

Continuous exposure to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity throughout young adulthood was associated with a cumulatively lowered risk of beginning and continuing smoking from ages 13 to 24.

Author Andrew Agbaje said: ‘The MVPA-smoking preventive potential had a strong causal consistency across all tested statistical models but the effect diminished by young adulthood. This requires supportive legislation to prevent tobacco smoking and/or nicotine use initiation from mid-teens through young adulthood.’

What risks does a lack of physical activity pose?

Teenagers who were non-smokers at the ages of 13 and 15 spent also 15 minutes longer per day on MVPA by the age of 24.

On average, the amount of physical activity that participants engaged in reduced with age. At 13, the children spent six hours per day inactive, six hours engaging in light physical activity and 55 minutes in MVPA. As adults, this had shifted to nine hours per day sedentary, three hours in light physical activity and 50 minutes in MVPA.

The children’s blood samples were also repeatedly tested for cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, insulin and C-reactive protein. Lack of physical activity was acknowledged as a risk factor for insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, inflammation, elevated cholesterol and excess liver fat.

Professor Agbaje continued: ‘Stopping smoking in adulthood is good but late since a residual long-term risk of heart disease for the next 30 years still exists. Preventing childhood smoking initiation is critical to lifelong health and these findings may be extrapolated to vaping and electronic cigarette use in teenagers since the same active ingredient in both smoke and smokeless tobacco is nicotine.’

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