People who use marijuana aren’t more or less likely to be physically active compared to non-users—but they do tend to favor light or moderate exercise, suggesting that “cannabis may influence the subjective experience” such as “enjoyment,” according to a new study that undermines the stereotype about lazy stoners.
This study involved students from the Heersink school of medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham. They conducted a cross sectional analysis of data collected through a survey. In a departure from the popular myth of couch-locked cannabis customers, the study found that marijuana usage “was not consistently associated with a decrease or increase in overall levels of physical activity.”
The study found that the results did show “variability” between individuals, which may be related to the way marijuana impacts the endocannabinoid systems, “which regulate mood, motivation and motor functions and can therefore affect both the experience of and the performance of physical activities,” according to the authors.
Participants reporting non-medical marijuana use tend to be more inclined towards light or medium activity. Walking and leisure sports are preferred to “vigorous activity” such as aerobics and heavy exercise.
Study: “Cannabis was used by a large number of people in this sample. There were substantial differences in terms of the frequency with which it was consumed, and there is a small subgroup that uses cannabis daily or almost every day.” There was no overall clear correlation between marijuana use and physical activity. Cannabis use, however, was closely related to light or moderate exercise rather than intense activity.
According to the authors, the results “support the notion that cannabis could influence the subjective experience during exercise, including enjoyment or discomfort. It does not directly improve physical performance.”
The researchers said future research must include objective measurements, like wearable activity monitors, as well as longitudinal or experiment designs, to better understand causal relations and the effects caused by different patterns of marijuana use.
In a similar vein, in 2024 a study showed that adults between the ages of 18 and 40 were not more active or sedentary after cannabis use. Recently, marijuana usage was linked to a marginal increase in light physical activity.
“Our findings provide evidence against existing concerns that cannabis use independently promotes sedentary behavior and decreases physical activity,” authors of that paper wrote, adding that “the stereotypical ‘lazy stoner’ archetype historically portrayed with chronic cannabis use does not acknowledge the diverse uses of cannabis today.”
A study published in 2023 separately linked marijuana use to an enhanced “runner’s high” and lower pain during exercise. The findings showed that participants felt “less negativity, more positive feelings, tranquility, pleasure, dissociation” and more runner’s high during cannabis-infused runs.
And in 2021, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.
Yet another study, in 2019, found that people use cannabis to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise. The study concluded that cannabis consumption before and after exercise improved performance, as well as aided recovery.
Meanwhile, a recent federally funded study challenged a related longstanding stereotype about marijuana munchies leading to obesity in lazy stoners—finding that whole extract cannabis is linked to both weight loss and and reduced risk of diabetes.
A study released last year on the use of marijuana components to aid weight loss found that use of a combined product containing the cannabinoids THCV and CBD “was associated with statistically significant weight loss” as well as a slimmer waistline, lower blood pressure and decreased cholesterol.
A separate study in 2024 found that regular marijuana users were less likely to be obese than people who don’t consume cannabis. The analysis revealed a dose-response between marijuana consumption and obesity. [body mass index]The lower your BMI, the more marijuana you use.”
According to the study, people who used cannabis in the previous month “were 31 percent less likely than non-users to be overweight after adjustments,” while “daily users of marijuana are 32 cents less likely than non-users to be overweight.”
Additional research published in 2020 found that “compared to older adult nonusers, older adult cannabis users had lower [body mass index] “At the start of a study on exercise interventions, participants engaged in more daily exercise during the intervention and at the end of the intervention they were participating in more activity-related exercises.”