Using cannabis during adolescence may disrupt the processes governing energy storage, resulting in a slimmer body.
- Consuming cannabis would reduce fat mass.
- Cannabis use during adolescence may alter the body’s ability to mobilize nutrients necessary for muscular and cerebral activity.
- These changes would be final.
Often, after smoking cannabis, users feel an insatiable, urgent and sudden hunger. Yet, despite these cravings, they remain thinner than people who do not use it. In a study, researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have found a possible explanation for this paradox, and it is not good news.
Mice unable to mobilize fuel from fat stores
“We wondered whether this phenotype (being thin) might result from lasting changes in energy balance established during adolescence, when drug use often begins,” they explained. To conduct their research, the scientists gave adolescent mice low daily doses of THC or its liquid carrier. Then, when the animals became adults, they stopped the treatment and conducted a thorough assessment of their metabolism.
According to the results, published in the journal Cell Metabolismrodents treated with THC during adolescence, even though they were no longer under the influence of the drug, had less fat mass. They were also partially resistant to obesity and hyperglycemia, had higher than normal body temperatures, and were unable to mobilize fuel from fat stores. Some of these characteristics are also seen in people who regularly use cannabis.
Cannabis: Rodents produced large amounts of muscle protein
To understand this data, the team looked at the molecular changes caused by THC. The results showed that fat cells from THC-treated mice looked normal under a microscope but produced significant amounts of muscle proteins, which are not normally found in fat. Muscles, on the other hand, produced less of these same proteins.
The scientists concluded that the effort required to produce these “foreign” proteins interfered with the normal functioning of fat cells and their ability to store and release nutrients. This would affect physical activity but also mental processes, such as concentration, which require a steady flow of fuel into the brain.
“Too often we think of cannabis solely as a psychoactive drug, but its effects extend far beyond the brain. Our results show that interference with endocannabinoid signaling during adolescence permanently disrupts adipose organ function, with potentially significant consequences for physical and mental health.”concluded Daniele Piomelli, author of the research, in a statement.
