Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between active smoking and visceral fat accumulation estimated using the dual impedance method.
Subjects and methods: This study investigated 666 subjects who had undergone a health check-up at a hospital. To determine each subject’s body composition, height, body weight, waist circumference, and visceral and subcutaneous fat area using the dual impedance method (DUALACAN^®) were determined. Information about smoking and lifestyle status was obtained from self-reported questionnaires. We investigated the relationship between body composition, smoking, and lifestyle status.
Results: Visceral fat area in the smoking group was significantly higher than that in the non-smoking group; however, subcutaneous fat area, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference were not significantly different between the two groups. In the smoking group, the average numbers of cigarettes smoked per day increased as the visceral fat area increased; however, subcutaneous fat area, BMI, and waist circumference was not related with the numbers of cigarettes smoked. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that energy intake and Brinkmann index were factors that could be entered into the regression model.
Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a significant relationship between active smoking and visceral fat accumulation. Health guidance for reducing visceral fat accumulation should include smoking cessation as well as other lifestyle improvement.

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Aim: We elucidated problems in nursing education by comparing the actual conditions of secondhand smoke exposure and its recognition among student nurses at two educational institutions at which the anti-smoking education and smoke-free campus policies differed.
Method: We conducted a questionnaire survey of student nurses at school of nursing B (with an anti-smoking education and smoke-free campus policy) and university A (with no anti-smoking education and no policy).
Results: The smoking rate among all subjects was 1.3%. Secondhand smoke exposure frequency differed between the two educational institutions. Subjects at A received secondhand smoke more frequently than those at B; overall, 66.2% of subjects were trying to avoid secondhand smoke. Most of them understood the harmful influence of secondhand smoke on pregnant women and lung cancer risk. However, students at B were aware of a greater number of harmful effects of exposure than were students at A.
Discussion: Differences in smoke-free campus policy among educational institutions and in anti-smoking education after school entry may influence knowledge and recognition of secondhand smoke issues among student nurses.
Conclusion: To raise recognition of the problems of secondhand smoke, continuous and developmental antismoking education, as well as a smoke-free campus policy, is important.

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