Prevalence of Obesity Among Electronic Cigarette and Tobacco Users in the United States: Results from the 2018 Wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

• Published in: Substance use & misuse Vol. 59; no. 10; pp. 1481 - 1487
• Main Authors: Smith, Caitlin E., O’Neil, Patrick M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Ltd 2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Avoidable; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Body height; Body mass index; Body weight; Electronic cigarettes; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems - statistics & numerical data; Female; Groups; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Prevalence; Risk behavior; Risk factors; Smoking; Surveillance; Surveillance systems; Tobacco; Tobacco Use - epidemiology; United States - epidemiology; Vaping; Vaping - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; United States > US; Obesity; e-cigarette use; population health; prevalence statistics; tobacco use
• ISSN: 1082-6084; 1532-2491; 1532-2491
• DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2354787

Tobacco use and obesity are leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. E-cigarette use is on the rise; however, obesity prevalence among e-cigarette users is unknown. The present study characterized obesity prevalence among e-cigarette and tobacco users in a national sample of U.S. adults. Data were obtained from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Approximately 249,726 participants provided data on e-cigarette and tobacco use, height, weight, and demographics, and were categorized as follows: Ever vaped, ever smoked; Ever vaped, never smoked; Never vaped, ever smoked; Never vaped, never smoked. Obesity prevalence (BMI ≥30 kg/m ) differed significantly across groups: 33.0% (ever vaped, ever smoked); 27.7% (ever vaped, never smoked); 33.1% (never vaped, ever smoked); 32.1% (never vaped, never smoked),  < .001. Groups also differed demographically. Logistic regressions adjusted for demographics revealed subjects in the never vaped, ever smoked group were significantly likely to have obesity relative to those in the never vaped, never smoked group (  < 0.001) with vaping status having no main effect. Secondary analyses using never smokers as the reference found current smokers were likely to have obesity and former smokers were likely to have obesity,  < .001. The present study is the first to characterize U.S. obesity prevalence among e-cigarette and tobacco users. Obesity prevalence was lower in the ever vaped, never smoked group; however, this finding appears to be attributable to demographic variables. As e-cigarette use becomes more common, future research should examine the development and maintenance of obesity among users.