Body mass index and marijuana use.
Though marijuana has been reported to stimulate appetite, we searched for a correlation between obesity and decreased marijuana use. We examined charts of all females referred for morbid obesity/weight management in a 12-month period. BMI and substance use data were collected from 297 charts. While 29% of the sample with BMI < 30 (n = 7) used marijuana in the past year, only 21% of those with BMI 30-39 (n = 84), 16% of those with BMI 40-49 (n = 110) and 14% (n = 96) of those with BMI > 50 used marijuana in the past year. Linear regression revealed a negative correlation between BMI group and percent marijuana use (R-squared = 0.96; P = 0.0173). These findings provide support for overeating as competition for drugs and alcohol in brain reward sites.
Warren
Matthew
M
College of Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 100183, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA. warren@ufl.edu
Frost-Pineda
Kimberly
K
Gold
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid / Q000187:drug effects; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid