Study: Why Pot Smokers Are Skinnier

[Fozzledick]

Marijuana users had smaller waists and scored higher across several measures of blood sugar regulation.

PROBLEM: "Marijuana use is associated with an acute increase in caloric intake," goes the clinical jargon for popular lore. Still despite eating more while high (by some measures, over 600 extra calories per day), marijuana users' extra intake doesn't seem to be reflected in increased BMI. Indeed, studies have identified a reduced prevalence of obesity in the pot smoking community.
...
RESULTS: Current marijuana users had significantly smaller waist circumference than participants who had never used marijuana, even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, tobacco and alcohol use, and physical activity levels. They also had higher levels of HDL ("good cholesterol&quot . The most significant differences between those who smoked marijuana and those who never or no longer did was that current smokers' insulin levels were reduced by 16 percent and their insulin resistance (a condition in which the body has trouble absorbing glucose from the bloodstream) was reduced by 17 percent.

People who had previously used marijuana, but not in the past thirty days, tended to have similar outcomes, but to a much lesser degree. In addition, none of these measures were impacted by how much marijuana people reported smoking.

IMPLICATIONS: Although they're not sure exactly how it happens, write the authors, these findings suggest that marijuana somehow works to improve insulin control, regulating body weight and perhaps explaining why marijuana users have a lower incidence of diabetes. Adding to the big questions -- "can weed can treat obesity?" and "marijuana makes you skinny?!" -- is the possibility that marijuana might be useful in helping people to manage their blood sugar.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/study-why-pot-smokers-are-skinnier/275846/?google_editors_picks=true

[hedgehog]

1. But, but but.....calories in, calories out

FIRST!

[Silent3]

19. The big picture still is calories in, calories out.

The human body does not break the laws of physics.

The question beyond that is how much room there is to play around with how efficiently your body burns calories, how many it burns when just "idling", how efficiently it stores calories that are consumed but not immediately used, whether you're building muscle or fat when your body mass increases, etc.

While we normally associate the word "efficient" with "good", a dieter's dream is actually to be highly inefficient in many ways -- to turn a lot of calories into waste heat rather than fat, to be poor at absorbing calories from food, to burn more calories at rest.

[hedgehog]

27. Excellent roundup of the latest data - but you'd be amazed at how

many still insist it's only calories in, calories out!

[Silent3]

32. I'm mostly skeptical about two things...

1) How big the effects outside of "calories in, calories out" are. 10% of consumed calories? 20%? 30%?

2) How applicable those other effects are to particular people's problems.

Call me cynical, but I tend to think that some (many?) people grousing that "calories in, calories out is bullshit!" are often in denial about how many calories they actually consume, and how few calories are burned by their daily activities.

I've lost over 80 lbs since last April, by the way, so I have a lot of recent experience with this stuff. Watching calories consumed (even though I did it very roughly much of the time) and counting calories burned during exercise tracked fairly well with my progress.

[KittyWampus]

54. Totally wrong. 100 low glycemic calories is totally different than 100 high glycemic calories.

Various foods have various effects on our metabolism.

[Silent3]

60. "Totally" different? That your body might process these food items a bit differently...

...doesn't make them "totally" different, and doesn't change the laws of physics.

[snappyturtle]

2. With diabetes raging in this counrty.....just sayin' ! nt

[G_j]

5. +1

[n2doc]

18. exactly! n/t

[malaise]

59. Well then there should be no diabetes in Jamaica

I'd really need to see a local study

[snappyturtle]

62. Best chuckle of my day....thanks, malaise! nt

[malaise]

64. Anytime snappyturtle

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Hmmmmmmmm

[LadyHawkAZ]

4. HIT IT AND PASS IT! PASS IT HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!

[Aerows]

15. OT

But your avatar made me burst out laughing for some reason. LOL.

[LadyHawkAZ]

17. Thanks! It did that to me too

and it suits me so well!

[truebluegreen]

6. That'd be sweet...

[upaloopa]

7. When I smoked rope back in the 80's I was real trim now I am a fat ass so I guess

they are right

[CBGLuthier]

8. well this should be a good experiment

I have been slowly reducing for some time. Coincidentally, starting very recently, I am taking a sabbatical from cannabis to reset. Will be interesting to see how this affects weight loss, appetite, and blood sugar issues.

But I will say that I have managed to be very, very large while smoking so it is not a cure-all for sure. But there may be something to the blood sugar regulation.

[Initech]

9. I'm guessing because they spend more on weed and less on food?

[WheelWalker]

10. This is very interesting. K&R

There is anecdotal evidence in my family that would tend to support these findings. Very interesting.

[Politicalboi]

11. Munchies are things of the past

Same as radical cotton mouth, and "glazed" eyes. LOL! But just more good news about MJ is good news. Will they change on it? Probably not. Such stigma for a harmless plant that gives us so much. I have read that MJ is good for diabetes. But only the lesser stages.

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. I quit in 1982 after gaining about 20 lbs that summer.

Good to know that isn't an issue any more.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. I thought for sure this said "Why Pot Smokers Are Skinner"

[Fozzledick]

13. Keep that up and you might get sent back to Meta!

[Warren DeMontague]

14. He looks a little straight, to me, but honestly you never know.

Earl, OTOH, looks like he just walked out of the parking lot at a Phish concert.

[Ikonoklast]

31. It's the Tie-Dye.

Dead giveaway.

Huh uh uh, Dude... I said "Dead".

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Serious answer, it should be fucking legal already. Yesterday.

[obama2terms]

20. Just don't pig out on junk food

If you get the munchies and I could believe this. My father is diabetic maybe I could talk him into to smoking some maryjane to help his blood sugar

[bananas]

21. "Diet brownies" nt

[nomorenomore08]

22. Aside from the (probably minor) health effects of inhaling pot smoke, the stuff really does seem

to make you healthier. Certainly I feel better when smoking it.

[Locut0s]

23. I'd be interested to see a study on whether smoking pot could lead to weight loss...

Would be interesting if it could be used for treating obesity. This article only makes a tentative connection I'd like to see a study.

[Habibi]

30. Pot makes everything taste better.

So, if you could direct your high self to healthy foods when you get the munchies . . .

Nah. Cheetos rule.

[tridim]

43. Costco Dates. Mmmmmm...

$6.00 for three pounds!

I tend to eat lots of fiber rich foods instead of junk. There are lots of muchie myths.

[tridim]

24. Yes! It makes maintaining ideal healthy weight very simple.

No need to ask me how I know.

Plus it shrinks tumors, and it tempers stress, and it regulates the immune system, and it keeps the pounds off, and it regulates insulin, and it might raise HDL levels, and it feels nice, and, and...

Can we please call it what it is now? It's a natural, non-toxic miracle drug. No other drug comes close.

[Fozzledick]

36. I believe the word is "panacea".

It may get tossed around loosely, but this is one case where it does seem to apply.

[tridim]

40. Yea, I hate using the word "miracle", but I use it in a non-religious context.

I also don't like calling it a "general health tonic", because of the negative connotation of the word "tonic", but that's exactly what it is.

It improves general health. Nothing else does that. I wish more people knew that.

[Dustlawyer]

51. It also helps with chronic (no pun intended) pain. I suffer from small fiber sensory neuropathy.

It works great for the pain and is the only time I am pain free. Too bad I can't use it during the day!

[Voice for Peace]

52. I'm sure the mood elevation alone is good for every single cell in our bodies

[Silent3]

25. I wonder if the pot has to be smoked to gain these benefits.

Sucking the soot of burning plants into your lungs is always going to have a downside for the health of your lungs, no matter what the other pluses might turn out to be for particular plants.

If this effect still occurs when marijuana is consumed in the form of brownies, at least enough to cancel out the calories of the brownies, I might have to consider this.

[RandiFan1290]

50. You do not have to smoke it

You can eat it and get more of the beneficial oils in the plant.
Just take it slow. It can be quite powerful.

[roody]

66. It can be vaporized.

[Buns_of_Fire]

26. Far out.

Uh... You gonna eat that Twinkie?

[NotThisTime]

28. Coke users have smaller waist sizes too

[KittyWampus]

55. and Meth users and Heroin

[Voice for Peace]

29. posing a question here... interested in others' perspective

Is it possible that marijuana smokers, in general,
have a healthier diet, which explains a lot of the
stuff in the OP?

Everyone I know who is a smoker has had a longtime
awareness of nutrition/healthy food vs junky fast
and processed foods. Which is the stuff that has made
most people fat.

[CanSocDem]

37. Asked and answered.

Generally speaking and in my experience, pot smokers are indeed healthier in most categories. Waistlines aren't normally a category I'd choose for verification, but when me and my daily-smoking compatriots get together it has the appearance of an anorexic support group.

Not that we don't enjoy our food, we just tend to eat less and appreciate it more. As in everything we have in common, quality is more important than quantity. An ounce of Thai stick is much preferred over a pound of ditchweed.

The general effects of cannabis are that it makes you feel good. The only people I know who 'feel good' after over-eating are not part of our group. They stand apart from us, making jokes about "munchies" and midnite pizza runs as they rip into their umpteenth case of beer, and proclaiming their fear of weight gain as the reason they're avoiding the 'bong'.

Pot smokers have a low tolerance for crap. It's why western civilization hates us.

.

[JNelson6563]

65. +1

[nikto]

33. Also, I have found in my own personal studies...

Folks who smoke cannabis (or who are completely at peace with its use),
are 88% less likely to be A-Holes.

[tridim]

34. +88

It really is true.

[hobbit709]

35. so what am I doing wrong?

[FiveGoodMen]

38. If only I could confirm that from personal experience!

[burnodo]

47. +1

I know what you mean

[chknltl]

41. Lol, thought you were talkin about Skinner!

It did seem odd at first so i grabbed my glasses....well my eyes ain't what they used to be.

[Half-Century Man]

42. Just more on the scale

On the question of the balance between the legality of Cannabis Sativa versus the benefits of Cannabis Sativa.

90+ years of failed policy based on racist legislation, half truths, full lies, intentional ignorance, denial of personal histories, medical quackery, investments in a law enforcement industrial complex, legislated morality, and the inability to admit an error (sounds republican to me) versus medically proven beneficial effects with depression, mood, headaches, migraines, menstrual cramps, focus, creativity, nausea, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, vomiting, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, as an analgesic, as an expectorant, alcohol abuse, asthma, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder,colo-rectal cancer, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, hepatitis C, leukemia, atherosclerosis, sickle-cell disease, Huntington's disease, skin tumors, epilepsy, anorexia nervosa, HIV-Associated Sensory Neuropathy, and many others. Industrial and commercial uses includes Textiles, paper, cordage, construction materials, bioplastics, biofuels, food, cosmetics, water and soil cleaning, weed control, and animal bedding.
Name one other, any other, plant with so many uses.
Good thing it's illegal... huh?

[RandiFan1290]

44. Cannabinoids

[damnedifIknow]

45. Also helps with Crohn's disease acoording to study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372

[Half-Century Man]

46. Because I'm old and no longer care about appearances.

To give that laid back pleasant feelings, Marijuana is only surpassed by properly done oral s*x.

[lunatica]

48. kicked for later reading.

[klyon]

49. I think cannabis increases insulin production

I believe that is what causes the munchie effect. Which I assume burns calories.
Legalize now for everyone.

[silverweb]

53. K&R

[Yavin4]

56. My Theory: Smoking pot reduces stress. Less stress = Less stress eating n/t

[kestrel91316]

57. I get to feel even LESS guilty about my nightly brownie now.......

[Mopar151]

58. Extreme munchies are a rookie thing

When you gain experience, you find that regulating your eating has positive results, and you can enjoy what you eat more. Some of it is knowing the difference between real hunger and wanting food in place of.....

[tavalon]

61. I would love to respond to this but I can't

I live in Washington state and have many medical issues that might be helped with pot but you see, I'm a nurse, so I can't. I do hope that soon workplace drug testing or at least exceptions for medical use will go by the wayside.

[RainDog]

63. THCV

another cannabinoid, other than THC and CBD.