During adolescence, cannabis use is thought to disrupt the finely tuned processes that govern energy storage, resulting in a slimmer body.
- Cannabis consumption could reduce fat mass and make us more resistant to obesity and hyperglycemia.
- Due to its consumption during adolescence, the body would be less able to mobilize the stored nutrients necessary for brain and muscle activity.
- These alterations are due to molecular changes occurring in the fatty organs which, after being exposed to cannabis, begin to manufacture proteins normally only found in the muscles and heart.
After smoking cannabis, consumers often experience an insatiable, pressing and sudden hunger. Despite these cravings, they are slimmer than people who don’t. In a recent study, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered a possible explanation for this paradox, and it wouldn’t be good news.
Mice could not mobilize fuel from fat stores
“We wondered if this phenotype (being thin) might result from long-lasting changes in energy balance established during adolescence, when drug use often begins,” they indicated. To carry out their work, the scientists administered low daily doses of THC or its liquid vehicle to adolescent mice. They then stopped the treatment and carried out a thorough evaluation of their metabolism once the animals became adults.
According to the results, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, rodents treated with THC during their adolescence, but who were no longer under the influence of the drug, had reduced body fat. They were also partially resistant to obesity and hyperglycemia, had higher than normal body temperature, and were unable to mobilize fuel from fat stores. Many of these characteristics are also seen in people who use cannabis frequently.
Cannabis: rodents produced large amounts of muscle protein
To understand this data, the team looked at the molecular changes caused by THC. The results revealed that the fat cells from the THC-treated mice looked normal under the microscope but produced large amounts of muscle protein, not normally found in fat. Muscles, on the other hand, produced less of these same proteins.
The authors concluded that the effort required to manufacture these “foreign” proteins interfered with the proper functioning of fat cells and therefore with their ability to store and release stored nutrients. This could affect not only physical activity but also mental processes, such as attention, which depend on a steady flow of fuel to the brain.
“Too often, we think of cannabis purely as a psychoactive drug, yet its effects extend well beyond the brain. Our results show that interference with endocannabinoid signaling during adolescence disrupts fat organ function in a permanent, with potentially significant consequences on physical and mental health”concluded Daniele Piomelli, author of the research, in a statement.
