Pubdate: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 Source: Daily Orange, The (NY Edu) Copyright: 2011 The Daily Orange Corporation Contact: http://www.dailyorange.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1287 Author: Katie Van Brunt, Staff Writer OPPOSITE EFFECT: STUDY FINDS MARIJUANA USERS HAVE LOWER OBESITY RATES Marijuana smokers are less likely to be obese than nonsmokers, according to a recent study. The study found that roughly a third of those who smoke at least three times a week are less likely to be obese than those who do not smoke at all, according to a Sept. 8 Time magazine article. Researchers analyzed two national studies consisting of 52,000 people and found that 22 percent of those who did not smoke marijuana were obese, compared to 14 percent of marijuana smokers who were obese. Even when adjustments were made for sex and age, the numbers still showed that obesity is lower in those who smoke weed than in those who do not, according to the article. Yann Le Strat, a co-author of the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, said in an email that the study's results were unexpected. Before the study, it was believed smoking weed increased appetites and may be linked to weight gain, Le Strat said. "Cannabis is known to give 'munchies,' and we hypothesized that cannabis use would be associated with an increased weight, an increased rate of obesity. We were surprised because what we found is that cannabis use is actually associated with a decreased weight, a decreased rate of obesity," he said. People who use cannabis at least three times a week are spending less time overeating or drinking alcohol, according to the article. Shweta Shreyarthi, a junior public health major at Syracuse University, said the study's results have gone against what she knows about weed. "Personally, from what I know, I thought it was used to get people to eat more, so I'm not quite sure if it'd work for the obesity epidemic," she said. "If more studies showed that it could somehow work for weight loss, then I think it should be used." But weed should not be used as a calming agent either, as there are consequences to using the drug, Le Strat said. "Cannabis is a drug with well-known negative effects on health. Cannabis should not be smoked for any medical reason because its adverse effects counterbalance the potential positive effect on weight," Le Strat said. Francesca Budesheim, a senior child and family studies major and addiction studies minor, said she doesn't believe marijuana should be used as a weight loss alternative. "I don't really think that it would be a healthy way to lose weight. I think there are more ways to lose weight that are supported by valid evidence, like eating right and working out," Budesheim said. But that this doesn't mean this couldn't change in the future, Budesheim said. She said that one day people may use it the same way they use medical marijuana. Said Budesheim: "Maybe in the future it could be a possibility, but they would probably use it the same way they use medical marijuana." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.