Obesity is Less Common in People Who Smoke Pot

goodkel
on 9/7/11 12:23 pm

Pot Smokers May Have Lower Risk of Obesity

By Rachael  Rettner

Despite the tendency of marijuana users to experience the "munchies," pot smokers may have a lower risk of obesity that those who don't use the drug, a new study finds.

The results show the prevalence of obesity is lower among people who frequently smoke pot compared with those who have never inhaled.

The researchers said they were surprised by their initial results, because they expected to find the opposite. So they examined a second sample of people, and found exactly the same result. Together, the two samples studied more than 50,000 people.

The reason behind the link is not clear. It could be that people who use cannabis also engage in other behaviors that lower their obesity risk. Or it may be that pot smokers exercise more or have a specific diet that keeps them thin, said study researcher Yann Le Strat, a psychiatrist at Louis Mourier Hospital in France.

"On a personal point of view, I would be surprised that cannabis use is associated with a higher rate of physical activity, but this cannot be ruled out," Le Strat told MyHealthNewsDaily.

Another possibility is that components of cannabis may help people lose weight. If this turns out to be the case, researchers should investigate which components these might be and try to put them into drug form, Le Strat said.

Cannabis and obesity

Cannabis use is known to increase appetite. In studies, drugs have been developed to block a receptor in the brain that is activated by cannabis compounds (called the cannabinoid CB1 receptor) in the hope that the drugs would reduce hunger. However, very few studies have looked at the link between cannabis use and obesity.

Le Strat and colleagues examined data from two national surveys in the United States called the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and the National Comorbidity Survey—Replication, involving about 41,600 and 9,100 people, respectively.

Between 4 and 7 percent of participants in these surveys reported using cannabis at least once in the last year.

Obesity was assessed using participants' body mass index (BMI).

The survey showed that about 22 to 25 percent of people who don't smoke pot were obese, while 16 to 17 percent of cannabis users were obese.

Obesity was less common among users who smoked pot more frequently. For instance, the NESARC survey showed about 14 percent of participants who used cannabis three days a week or more were obese, the researchers said. Between 0.7 and 1.8 percent of the sample smoked marijuana this frequently.

The participants reported their own BMI as well as cannabis use, so if they did not give accurate estimates of these measurements, the results could be skewed.

Don't smoke pot

Regardless of the effect of cannabis on obesity, Le Strat said she does not recommend people smoke cannabis to lose weight. Cannabis has well-known physical and mental health consequences, including an increased risk of psychosis.

"As an addiction psychiatrist, I see every day people struggling with cannabis dependence. I would not recommend smoking cannabis for any reason," Le Strat said.

The study was published Aug. 24 in the American Journal of Epidemiology. One of the authors of the study has submitted a patent application in Canada entitled ‘‘Use of Marijuana and Compounds Therein for Treating Obesity."

Pass it on: Obesity is less common in people who smoke cannabis.

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/06/pot-smokers-may-hav e-lower-risk-obesity/#ixzz1XK5HlpBP
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jenysez1
on 9/7/11 12:54 pm - LA
I disagree...lol

    
(deactivated member)
on 9/7/11 12:56 pm
..... 

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19345076

Biological effects of THC and a lipophilic cannabis extract on normal and insulin resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Gallant MOdei-Addo FFrost CLLevendal RA.

Source

Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77 000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa.

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease, affects about 150 million people world wide. It is characterized by insulin resistance of peripheral tissues such as liver, skeletal muscle, and fat. Insulin resistance is associated with elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), which in turn inhibits insulin receptor tyrosine kinase autophosphorylation. It has been reported that cannabis is used in the treatment of diabetes. A few reports indicate that smoking cannabis can lower blood glucose in diabetics. Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. This study aimed to determine the effect of a lipophilic cannabis extract on adipogenesis, using 3T3-L1 cells, and to measure its effect on insulin sensitivity in insulin resistant adipocytes. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and differentiated over a 3 day period for all studies. In the adipogenesis studies, differentiated cells were exposed to the extract in the presence and absence of insulin. Lipid content and glucose uptake was subsequently measured. Insulin-induced glucose uptake increased, while the rate of adipogenesis decreased with increasing THC concentration. Insulin-resistance was induced using TNF-alpha, exposed to the extract and insulin-induced glucose uptake measured. Insulin-induced glucose was increased in these cells after exposure to the extract. Semiquantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed after ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction to evaluate the effects of the extract on glucose transporter isotype 4 (GLUT-4), insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and IRS-2 gene expression.

PMID:
 
19345076
 
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
beth-28
on 9/7/11 1:28 pm
*sigh* I knew I shouldn't have quit!
When push comes to shove....shove hard!

       

Never regret anything, because at one time it was exactly what you wanted.

Hislady
on 9/7/11 1:46 pm - Vancouver, WA
All I can say is when I was a young thing back (way back) in the day I was indeed skinny. Now oh so many years later and minus the herb I'm fat. Does give one pause for thought!
(deactivated member)
on 9/7/11 1:50 pm
Hmm, my sister who has the same genes as I do partakes frequently and is of normal weight, and my brother who is the quitessential pot head is like a weed.
(deactivated member)
on 9/7/11 2:01 pm
 
Joy_72
on 9/7/11 2:44 pm - Ridgeway, VA
Very interesting. Thank you for posting. : )
~~Joy~~
Amy Farrah Fowler
on 9/7/11 4:29 pm
 I wonder if eating it would have the same outcome as smoking. Maybe not if it's in a brownie.
samsander
on 9/7/11 4:49 pm - CA
I don't smoke anything, but wonder this...... Isn't pot smoking the same as cigarette smoking in terms of ulcers? This is a serious question.

Mary SW 273  CW 158  GW 160


       

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