Could be cannabis be a part of our diet?
Cannabis lo lose weight. A study from Michigan State University suggests that people who smoke marijuana are more prone to lose weight compared to those who don’t.
The research has been published in the International Journal of Epidemiology and seems to be contrary to the current belief that cannabis consumers gain weight because the herb opens the appetite. The study has been led by Omayma Alshaarawy, professor of family medicine and the conclusions are clear: persistent consumers are less likely to gain weight or become obese.
It has been found that consumers were prone to be at a normal, healthier weight and were more able to maintain that weight too. The research used data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Condition. It used 33,000 participants, whose age ranged from 18 to 65. Only 15% of cannabis users were obese compared to 20% of non-users.
Although the weight difference among consumers and non-consumers was not too big (around 2 pounds for a 5-foot-7-inch participant weighing about 200 pounds when the study began) the variance was constant among the whole sample size.
Maybe a difference of just two pounds is not much. But, as we said, it is a constant variance found in 30000 people, each one with different types of lives and jobs, and still the study got this result.
What has cannabis to affect weight? The answer is not clear yet.
It could be something behavioral because the consumers could be more worried about their food intake and don’t want to gain weight. Or it could be something in the cannabis itself that can vary the way our receptors respond in the body. Anyway, we need more research.
Dr. Alshaarawy thinks that cannabis cannot be considered a diet aid until we know more about the subject.
The health concerns are too many when it comes to cannabis. These concerns outweigh the possible positive effects they have on weight gain. We shouldn’t consider cannabis as a part of our diet to lose weight or maintain it yet.
