 The investigators collected pilot data on a promising 16-week intervention that they called the LATE WEIGHT PLAN because it emphasized smoking cessation for the first half of treatment and integrated weight management for the last half. The weight management module included a pre-packaged meal plan; high-carbohydrate, low-fat snacks; and low-intensity aerobic exercise. All patients continued in the weight management phase of treatment, regardless of whether they had succeeded in quitting smoking or were preparing to make new quit attempts. Based on pilot findings, the investigators estimated the point prevalence of smoking cessation for the LATE WEIGHT PLAN group to be 74 at the end of treatment, with weight gain less than 5 lb. An EARLY WEIGHT PLAN group controlled for the timing of the intervention, using the same target quit smoking date and 16 week program but integrating the weight management module into the first 8 weeks of treatment. Like others, they found that EARLY weight management efforts, while they may have prevented weight gain, apparently did so at some cost to smoking cessation, which they estimated to be 42 at 4 months. Finally, a CESSATION ONLY group controlled for the presence of a weight management intervention, by dealing exclusively with smoking cessation for the entire 16 week program. The CESSATION ONLY group had attained the worst outcome in terms of weight control and an intermediate outcome in terms of abstinence at the end of treatment 50. By randomizing 315 female smokers to the three treatments and comparing abstinence and weight gain after 4 months of treatment and 6 month follow-up 10 months, they tested whether a behavioral intervention could indeed achieve the dual goals of promoting smoking cessation and minimizing weight gain. 