'Marijuana smokers are thinner, less likely to be obese than non-smokers, according to new study'

Marijuana smokers are thinner, less likely to be obese than non-smokers, according to new study

BY Philip Caulfield
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, September 4th 2011, 1:07 PM



A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who smoke marijuana are less likely to be obese than non-smokers.


Stoners may spend a lot of time on the couch and craving White Castle, but they apparently don't let their bodies go to pot.

People who smoke marijuana regularly are less likely to be obese than non-pot smokers, according to a new study by French researches.

"We found that cannabis users are less likely to be obese than non-users," Dr. Yann Le Strat, French psychiatrist and co-author of a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology told MSNBC. "We were so surprised, we thought we had [made] a mistake.”

Using data from two epidemiologic studies of U.S. adults, researchers found that between 22% to 25% of participants who didn’t smoke pot were obese.

But only between 14% and 17% of those people who admitted to taking a toke at least three times a week were overweight.

Le Strat said other factors, such as the stoners' level of physical activity or diets, could have contributed to the results, but his team tried to rule out those factors.

The researches were also quick to point out that sucking on a bong isn't the key to a tight tummy.

"The take-home message is certainly not 'smoke cannabis, it will help you lose weight,'" Le Strat said. "The possibility that cannabis is associated with a lower risk of obesity remains an interesting hypothesis, but certainly does not counterbalance its negative effects on health and mental health."