iStockphoto
If you’ve ever smoked weed and come down from your high surrounded by a couple cans of Arizona, an empty bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and a pint of Phish Food with more ice cream missing than you anticipated, you likely know the munchies are very, very real.
As we established a few months back, there’s a scientific reason consuming marijuana via your vehicle of choice makes you crave unhealthy foods, as THC latches onto the receptors in the brain that trick your body into thinking you’re hungry and in turn make you fall victim to the sweet and salty foods that are engineered to keep you coming back for more.
There are certain strains out there designed to increase productivity, and while there are some people who are actually able to function better after getting their marijuana on, I’m willing to bet most fans of the Devil’s lettuce are more inclined to post up on the couch and get a little too into Planet Earth.
As a result, I’d assume that people who smoke weed aren’t exactly physical specimens compared to the rest of the population, but if the fairly surprising results of a new study are to be believed, they might actually have an upper hand on people who’ve made the decision to abstain.
According to The Denver Post, a group of researchers at Michigan State set out a few years ago to take a closer look at the correlation between marijuana use and weight gain, and if their findings are to be believed, weed aficionados actually have a slight upper hand when it comes to keeping off the pounds.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Over a three-year period, all participants showed a weight increase, but interestingly, those who used marijuana had less of an increase compared to those that never used. Our study builds on mounting evidence that this opposite effect occurs.”
“We found that users, even those who just started, were more likely to be at a normal, healthier weight and stay at that weight. Only 15 percent of persistent users were considered obese compared to 20 percent of non-users.”
Sure, it might not be that dramatic of a difference but I’m still going to chalk this one up as a win.