By Carey Wedler (ANTIMEDIA): Though cannabis use is often associated with unmitigated sloth and gluttony, a new study suggests the opposite: cannabis use may be associated with a decrease in obesity. An analysis of over 20 years of data found that obesity dropped by a significant margin in states where medical cannabis is legal. Though the researchers’ findings represented correlation as opposed to causation, the results, like many new findings about cannabis, chip away at decades-old stereotypes about the plant and its users.
The study, titled “The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Body Weight,” was published in Health Economics, an academic journal that focuses on health policy and services, health care sciences and services, and economics. Researchers from Cornell University’s Department of Policy Analysis and Management and San Diego State University’s Department of Economics analyzed data from the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The BRFSS is the “premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services,” according to the CDC.
The study, titled “The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Body Weight,” was published in Health Economics, an academic journal that focuses on health policy and services, health care sciences and services, and economics. Researchers from Cornell University’s Department of Policy Analysis and Management and San Diego State University’s Department of Economics analyzed data from the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The BRFSS is the “premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services,” according to the CDC.