OBJECTIVE: To study the relationships between overweight and smoking habit. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was developed in a random sample (n = 944) of adults (> 18 years of age) from Santarem (state of Pará, northern Brazil) in 2007, through telephone interviews. The outcome variable was overweight and the explanatory variable, smoking habit. Confounding variables were: age, race, schooling, marital status, smoking habit, nutritional status at 20 years of age, alcohol abuse, leisure physical activity, and diet. The association between overweight and other variables was investigated by the chi-square test and Poisson regression in order to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios, for overweight according to smoking habit. Three levels of hierarchy were considered: socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, and behavior. RESULTS: Data show 40.6% of overweight and 16.4% of smokers. Variables associated with overweight were: older age, low level of schooling, stable marital relationship, overweight at 20 years of age, and non-consumption of soft drinks for both sexes; no physical activity in leisure time for men and smoking habit (present and past) for women. Prevalence ratios of overweight were not associated with smoking habits for men, but for women there was a trend toward a higher prevalence of overweight for current smokers, reaching 2.56 times more than among never smokers and former smokers. CONCLUSION: This study showed a higher risk of overweight among women smokers, comparatively to former and never smokers. For men there was no association between overweight and smoking habit.
Overweight; Smoking; Adults; Telephone interview; Santarém
