Tetrahydrocannabinol & Anorexia Nervosa

Results from a three-year clinical trial confirm for the first time that THC can help patients with anorexia nervosa gain weight.

While cannabis is known to increase appetite, the study was the first to confirm the effectiveness of its main chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol, in patients with an eating disorder.



Anorexia nervosa affects women more often than men and is caused by an unreasonable fear that you will gain weight, resulting in reduced food intake and excessive weight loss.

Researchers from the Center for Eating Disorders at Odense University Hospital in Denmark followed 24 women with severe chronic anorexia nervosa who were given synthetic THC pills (dronabinol) as part of a randomized controlled trial.

The findings were published last month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Dronabinol treatment was well tolerated. During four weeks of exposure, it caused a small but significant increase in body weight, with no serious side effects.

Patients were divided into two groups and received dronabinol and placebo daily for 4 weeks, with a four-week break in the washout interval.


On average, patients gained 0.73 kg more weight during the 4 weeks of dronabinol treatment compared to the 4 weeks of placebo. Although the improvement was modest, the authors suggest that a longer treatment period may produce more significant benefits.

Side effects were not officially measured, but the authors noticed few adverse reports. The results of the one-year follow-up also confirmed the safety of tetrahydrocannabinol treatment.

Weight records collected up to one year after the end of the study showed that participants' nutritional status continued to improve without developing addiction or withdrawal symptoms, suggesting that dronabinol was safe in these patients with long-term anorexia nervosa.

According to the authors, this study was the first in the last 30 years to investigate the possible effects of THC on anorexia nervosa. Previous studies on THC and weight gain have only been performed in patients suffering from anorexia caused by diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

However, because of the small sample size of the study, the authors say larger studies are needed before THC can be widely recommended as a treatment for anorexia nervosa.

The study was published before publication and was independently supported by the Center for Eating Disorders, Department of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital.

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