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Pot Smokers Have Smaller Waists Than Non-Smokers, Study Finds

So what, is it time for weed diets?
Photo: Blind Nomad/Flickr

Hunger is a well-known side effect smoking marijuana, and all those burritos, ice cream, and Bagel Bites have to take a toll on your waistline, right? Well, according to new research published in the The American Journal of Medicine, cannabis enthusiasts may very well be overweight, but weed isn't to blame.

Researchers found that people who regularly smoke marijuana actually have lower levels of fasting insulin and are less likely to be insulin resistant. What's more, the study found that current marijuana smokers are likely to have smaller waist circumferences than non-smokers. All of these are factors in diabetes risk, with pot smoking lowering that risk.

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Looking at data from over 4,600 patients—roughly 45 percent of which had never smoked or ingested pot, 43 percent had smoked pot in the past but didn't currently, and 12 percent were regular smokers—the study found that those people who had smoked in the past month had 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels than people who had never smoked pot. They also had lower levels of HOMA-IR (insulin resistance), along with higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

As for the part about smaller waists, this research found similar results to previous research that has found that even though regular marijuana users have, on average, higher levels of caloric intake—yes, if you didn't already know, the stereotype is backed up with research—there is an association with smoking pot and lower body mass index.

The researchers note that all the data on frequency of marijuana use is self-reported, which may mean that people underestimate their use of pot or deny using it at all, but underestimation would tend to skew the results toward a lower association between more pot use and lower fasting insulin levels.

Study co-author Elizabeth Penner comments,

It is possible that the inverse association in fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance seen among current marijuana users could be in part due to changes in usage patterns among those with a diagnosis of diabetes. However, after we excluded those subjects with a diagnosis of diabetes, the associations between marijuana use and insulin levels, HOMA-IR, waist circumference, and HDL-C were similar and remained statistically significant.

In other recent pot-isn't-nearly-as-bad-for-you-as-you-were-told news, The Oncology Report writes that a new survey of pot smokers in the US, Canada, UK, and New Zealand shows that regular marijuana smokers "are no more likely to develop lung cancer than are more likely to develop lung cancer than are people who indulge occasionally."

Furthermore,

In an analysis of marijuana smokers that excluded tobacco smokers, there were no significant differences in any of the comparisons, including habitual versus non-habitual use; number of joints smoked per day; duration of up to 20 years or a duration of more than 20 years.

That said, one of the report's authors, Dr Michael Alberts, reminds us that smoking anything isn't particularly good for the respiratory system. And before you start to argue that smoking weed is a viable diet plan, be forewarned that a combination of a good diet and regular exercise is probably a better idea.