A study in the February issue of the journal Obesity found that regular cannabis users had a lower body mass index, lower fat percentages, and lower fasting insulin — adding to the growing body of research debunking the ‘fat, munchie-chomping stoner’ stereotype.
Marijuana fights diabetes, another study confirms
Two runners finish a 5K jog in support of the legalization of cannabis — a plant that reduces obesity.
Canadian researchers looked at 786 adults in the an Inuit community where more than half the population used cannabis. They found that cannabis use was statistically associated with lower BMI, and other metrics of obesity.
The study mirrors findings of several others, including a French study in 2011, and a U.S. study in 2012 that concluded “marijuana use was independently associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus.”
The active ingredients in marijuana can spur appetite, but they also seem to confer a better, more efficient carbohydrate metabolism, researchers suspect. “Current marijuana users showed fasting insulin levels that were 16% lower than those of former or never users, along with a 17% reduction in another measure of insulin resistance as well. Higher levels on both tests are associated with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked with obesity,” reported TIME.
“Subjects with a history of cannabis use were about 30 percent less likely to have diabetes compared to non-using subjects,” 2015 researchers noted.
Obesity costs America an estimated $147 billion per year in medical costs.
For more on the ingredients in cannabis, here’s some Marijuana Vocabulary 101: THC vs. CBD, via our podcast, The Hash.
[via NORML]
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/08/20/marijuana-fights-diabetes-another-study-confirms/