We've all heard of the munchies, but what is the relationship between cannabis and weight gain? Whether you're a casual pot smoker using cannabis to unwind, or a medical marijuana user on a chronic pain relief treatment plan, the question of how smoking weed can impact the body can feel like a crucial one.
After all, marijuana use (particularly chronic marijuana use) was once a feature on many after-school specials, and its association with snacking and slacking might just be one seared into pop culture consciousness.
A part of that question might be about how cannabis use might impact your weight. It makes sense, after all, what is snacking if not a shorthand for junk food and an increased calorie intake? But what actually is the relationship between marijuana use and body weight? And is it true that some evidence suggests that pot users have a reduced body mass index?
First, let's start with the basics.
How many calories are in weed?
Unfortunately, there’s not a straightforward answer to the question of marijuana’s calorie count.
Not only has there been limited research in the space, but so much of the answer depends on how you consume it. Whether you’re eating it in brownies, drinking it in tea, or smoking it on its own are all factors that are going to have a determining impact on its calorie count.
That said, some recent research suggests that when looked at purely in its plant form, hemp contains roughly 2 calories per gram [2]. Given the average joint contains 0.3g of cannabis [3], that means marijuana users are looking at less than a calorie per marijuana cigarette.
Does smoking weed make you gain weight?
Given how low-calorie weed is on its own, the act of smoking marijuana itself shouldn't have much impact on your waistline, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a relationship with weight gain.
If you’re getting your hit through the often moreish, often high calorie and high sugar pot brownies for instance, they’re going to have a much bigger impact on your body weight than if you're brewing it up for some marijuana tea.
Smoking marijuana can also enhance appetite which can lead to greater food intake which can, when not paired with exercise, lead to weight gain [1]. A recent study of cannabis users tackled this directly by looking at the point where smoking marijuana would trigger hunger.
Researchers found that low doses of weed (i.e. one marijuana cigarette) had no impact on hunger or food intake, whereas higher doses (i.e. having 2 or 3 joints in a sitting) increased the likelihood of snacking between meals [1]. Given many traditional snacks have a high caloric intake, this did increase the likelihood of having an impact on marijuana users' body weight.
Increased food intake isn't the only risk when it comes to pot though. Smoking marijuana has been found to have other risks that can interact with body weight, including cardiovascular risk factors [4].
Is it true that it can contribute to weight loss?
Despite cannabis use being so heavily associated with snacking, recent research suggests that the relationship between cannabis and weight loss could be an important area of study.
This new field of research was prompted by data showing that marijuana users have a typically lower body mass index than non-marijuana users, and while that certainly seems to be true, the exact theory at the heart of it might not be quite what you think.
Marijuana use, after all, certainly doesn't decrease appetite (even if taken in small doses, it doesn't increase it either), so how exactly can it help you to lose weight?
The theory is ultimately dependent on the Western diet. Whether you're having burgers for lunch or that can of Coke on the run, the current Australian diet is not just high calorie but holds a lot of sugars and refined starches that result in an elevated omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Those omega-6 fatty acids get turned into cannabinoids which in turn stimulate the CB1 receptors.
CB1 receptors are key to regulating both appetite and metabolism, so by getting too many omega-6 fatty acids, we're getting too many cannabinoids, which are overstimulating our CB1 receptors.
In other words, all the snacks and foods endemic to our Western diet these days are basically making us hungrier and causing our metabolisms to be dysfunctional.
Smoking cannabis has been found by some early studies to basically calm down that CB1 activity, which can result in the inhibition of weight gain, reduced eating overall (so maybe you snack more, but have smaller meals), and the suppression of food intake [1].
That said, this is a new area of research, and at this point, there's no concrete link between cannabis and weight loss.
Does weed tolerance affect weight?
Depending on how often you've smoked marijuana in the past, your tolerance to cannabis can really vary over time. If you use it often, odds are you might develop a higher tolerance which means it takes higher doses for you to get the same feeling you used to, whereas if you've taken a break from using it, your tolerance might just be lower than you remember.
Like with many of the factors on this list though, smoking weed alone shouldn't lead to a higher body weight. That said, an increased calorie intake as a result of hunger triggered by cannabis use might have an impact.
If you're concerned about your tolerance though and feel you may be smoking weed more than you should, drug alcohol abuse services such as DirectLine (1800 888 236) are available to support you and offer you guidance.
How to approach weight loss
When trying to lose weight, it's important to take a holistic approach that takes an honest look at your lifestyle, your habits (both the good ones and the bad ones), as well as your dietary intake and exercise behaviours.
After all, making weight loss stick means avoiding yo-yo dieting and being realistic about the things we consume, our professional, social and familial habits and responsibilities, and the changes we want and need to make to become the healthiest version of ourselves.
Making those lifestyle changes isn't always easy though, and having the professional advice to guide you, the community to support you, and the tools to get you there can be the difference between an abandoned effort and a new, healthier you.
Pilot’s Metabolic Reset Program offers you all of that and more to help you on your weight loss journey. It takes into account all aspects of your lifestyle, including cannabis use, and gives you the advice and the framework to get your body to where you want to take it.
Our program combines modern weight loss treatments with health coaching, to set you up for life with help from our team of in-house professionals.
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