A new study shows that medical marijuana can decrease the obesity rate in America. Only if it will be legalized.
Researchers from San Diego State University found that at a state level, legalizing medical marijuana could have a larger effect to society's health.
To better understand this and avoid confusion that marijuana is a well-known appetite stimulant, researchers explained that medical marijuana could affect a variety of health outcomes. They found that passage of medical marijuana laws (MML) associated with obesity decline can control social and economic factors.
Researchers found that data collected between 1990 to 2012 through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System shows that enforcement of MML is associated with a decline in obesity by 2% to 6%.
According to the study's authors, looking at financial effects, a per person medical cost reduction of $58 to $115 can be seen from MML obesity induced related medical expenses.
Studies have been categorized according to age. For older individuals, MML induced persons have increased physical mobility. For younger adults, there was a reduction of alcohol consumption .
These findings coincide with the hypothesis that MML can be used for health and wellness purposes among older individuals and a decrease in recreational "highs" from the younger group.
However, some researchers caution against over analyzing the results of the study. Director Rosalie Pacula, head of BING Center for Health Economics, says that the data is not necessarily the best way to weather a state-level effects. MML is still quite new and will be in constant study.
She cautions that such findings should be interpreted very carefully as they could be plausibly reversed in the future.
"These data aren't going to provide us with definitive answer because of the issues with the data and time period being evaluated", Pacula explained in an email, as reported online.
