The following article discusses marijuana is a possible anti-obesogenic substance. Many questions arise both legal and moral upon this latest revelation. One must ask how the fatosphere is going to react to this recent scientific findings. Will they suddenly become violently anti-pot in the same way that they are violently anti-diet?
From a medical point of view a 33% reduction in obesity is significant so this begs the question, will medical marijuana dispensaries be selling marijuana for weight reduction?
People have asked me, Fat Bastard, for the reaction of the new fat acceptance movement. I tell them that we remain neutral on the subject as we see it as a wash and that we have no official position. Personally I, Fat Bastard, like it. Food tastes better when you are stoned and the fact that it makes you leaner allows you to eat more. How can that be bad? At the end of this article there will be some expert commentary from our resident culinary nutritionist and medical marijauna patient The Chef.
Marijuana Slims? Why Pot Smokers Are Less Obese
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| Super hot thingling getting baked! |
If cannabis causes the munchies, how is it possible that pot smokers are thinner than nonsmokers?
A new
study published in the
American Journal of Epidemiology
finds an intriguing connection between marijuana use and body weight,
showing that rates of obesity are lower by roughly a third in people who
smoke pot at least three times a week, compared with those who don’t
use marijuana at all.
Researchers analyzed data from two large national surveys of the
American population, which together included some 52,000 participants.
In the first survey, they found that 22% of those who did not smoke
marijuana were obese, compared with just 14% of the regular marijuana
smokers. The second survey found that 25% of nonsmokers were obese,
compared with 17% of regular cannabis users.
The association between pot smoking and lower risk of obesity
remained strong even after adjusting for other factors that could
influence body fat and health, such as cigarette smoking, age and
gender. But the correlation between weed and weight doesn’t mean that
marijuana smoking actually causes weight loss.
MORE: Cheers, Ladies! A Drink a Day May Mean Good Health in Older Age
Many other factors could account for the connection. For example,
some research finds that
highly religious people are less likely to take
drugs, but more likely to be obese — perhaps because they’re
substituting one compulsive behavior (overeating) for the other (smoking
marijuana). So, some of the obese people in the national surveys may be
religious folk, who might otherwise be heavy marijuana smokers, but are
eating too much instead. That could make it look like marijuana is
slimming.
Also consider that one of the most popular uses of medical marijuana
is to stimulate appetite in people with cancer, AIDS or other diseases.
Such patients are significantly less likely to be obese than the general
population — so in this case, weight loss would precede or prompt the
marijuana smoking.
Whatever the explanation for the link between marijuana and less
obesity, it’s unlikely that cannabis could serve as an effective diet
aid. For one, smoking pot has been shown to increase appetite in
multiple studies, at least in the short-term, so it likely wouldn’t help
dieters resist temptation.
Secondly, a drug that has the opposite effect of THC, marijuana’s
main psychoactive ingredient, has itself been shown to aid dieting.
Called rimonabant, at high doses the drug nearly tripled the weight loss
achieved by people taking placebo. It also frequently caused severe
depression and suicidal thoughts, however, so while it was briefly
approved by European authorities, it was ultimately pulled from the
market.
MORE: Reverse Engineering the Marijuana ‘Munchies’: What Causes Binge Eating?
Of course, none of this explains why marijuana smokers in the
national survey samples didn’t get fatter by taking a drug that can
clearly stimulate appetite. One factor may be tolerance: many of
marijuana’s effects are reduced in frequent users, as the body adjusts
to it.
Another may be substitution — the smokers could be seeking comfort by
smoking more marijuana, rather than eating more. Or, perhaps other
ingredients in cannabis like
cannabidiol (CBD) could reduce the
appetite-increasing effects of THC in the same way that they reduce its
paranoia-inducing properties.
Whatever the case, marijuana research never lacks for surprises!
MORE: The Secrets of Self-Control: The Marshmallow Test 40 Years Later
Maia Szalavitz is a health writer at TIME.com. Find her on Twitter at @maiasz. You can also continue the discussion on TIME Healthland’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIMEHealthland.
Commentary by The Chef
Note: The Chef, a man of color speaks in the third person.
The Chef is a big man with a big appetite and he ain't makin no aplogies for it. The Chef also possess a degree in culinary nutrition from the esteemed Johnson and Wales cooking school. The Chef is a proud man of color but unfortunately the chef is a bit gouty in the leg. Because this the chef smokes a bong or two of the sticky green... For medicinal purposes only. This makes the chef an expert in this area. As an expert culinary nutritionist, proud man of color and medical marijuana patient the Chef is eminently qualified to speak on the subject. There's nothing better than a good meal after inhalation of some BC Hydro. The Chef only smokes the best. There ain't no telling how fat the chef would be if he did not medicate his condition with the smokin of the sticky green. The Chef would encourage nearly everyone in America to smoke pot. Pot makes everything better.
The Chef loves the ladies and ladies love the Chef. When the Chef is making sweet love to a fine lady he likes being high. The Chef likes his ladies like he likes his stakes thick and juicy but he got no wood for them BBWs God bless em.
I'd hit that.
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