Dr. Tan is a health psychologist and epidemiologist. Her research focuses on social factors that influence the risk of cancer in people who have low income and/or belong to racial/ethnic minorities.

Dr. Tan received her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, and her Masters in Public Health from Emory University. While completing her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Miami, she received clinical training at the Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center there. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University prior to joining the faculty at the University of Chicago.

Tobacco use and obesity are two common health risks, particularly among African-Americans. Although there are many benefits to giving up smoking, ~80% of smokers report that they gain weight after they quit. On average, former smokers gain 4-10 pounds upon quitting, but several studies have found that African-American smokers have a higher average weight gain.

In a 2018 study, Dr. Tan followed up on these findings, because the earlier studies were based on comparing a small number of African-American participants to a much larger number of white participants. She recruited 342 African-American participants who smoked more than 5 cigarettes per day and who had signed up for a four-week program to help them quit smoking. She measured their weight gain over the course of a year and compared people who successfully quit to those who resumed smoking.

She found that the people who successfully quit smoking for 12 months gained on average ~7 pounds over the course of the year. Most of that weight gain occurred in the first six months. In contrast, the people who resumed smoking gained on average 1 pound.

Dr. Tan was able to conclude that - at least within her study - African-American smokers who quit smoking gained the same amount of weight as other racial groups. This was in contrast to previous studies, which showed a greater weight gain. She was not able to say for sure whether this was a result of a big sample of participants or of the intensive therapy-based program that the smokers participated in to help them quit.

This study helps to fill in some gaps in the research on how to help people quit smoking and on the side effects they might expect. It also highlights the importance of including more diverse groups of people in studies. (This paper is just one several published about this particular program to help people quit smoking, which also found that participants were more likely to successfully quit smoking if the program included discussions of historical mistrust of the medical establishment within African-American communities, and racial discrimination as a stressor that contributes to smoking.)