Nutritional status in Mexican young adults who consume marijuana: an analysis by sex

Abstract

Objective: To know the association between marijuana use and nutritional status in young Mexicans aged 18 to 34, according to sex.

Materials and methods: Analytical cross-sectional study, in which 32 women and 35 men who used marijuana, recruited on social networks with the snowball technique, participated. The instrument used was a nutritional clinical history that included self-report of anthropometric measurements and dietary practices; the ASSIST questionnaire on the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; as well as the International Physical Activity and Lifestyle Questionnaire, known as IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire).

Results: The average age of the participants was 24 years for women and 25 for men. Regarding anthropometric measurements, the statistically significant results were lower body mass index and waist circumference in women than in men. The dietary indicator also showed lower caloric intake in women; however, both groups were classified as having hypercaloric diets.

Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study due to SARS-CoV-2 which prevented the implementation of the biochemical and clinical indicators, significant body and eating changes were found in marijuana users of both sexes.

Keywords: Nutrition; Adults; Marijuana Abuse.