Obesity and the ex-smoker factor

There is all this talk about how American's are becoming increasingly obese. You have to wonder if it's related to the increasing numbers of ex-smokers, who have simply traded one vice for another:



Personal Vice, Public War

[...] There are many reasons we’ve gotten fatter, but I can’t help wonder how much of the rise in eating corresponds to the drop in smoking. This article notes that smokers are less obese than non-smokers, but ex-smokers are more obese than non-smokers. Is it possible that our aggressive efforts to stomp out the “evil” cigarettes has merely skewed our vices without making us healthier or “better”?

I don't know if it's the biggest reason why obesity is increasing, but it must be a large contributing factor at the very least.