207825 Association between Obesity and Illicit Drug Use in Young Adults

Wednesday, November 11, 2009: 12:53 PM

Shi Huang, PhD , Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Frank Charlie Bandiera, MPH , Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Guillermo Prado, PhD , Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that drugs and food activate common brain reward systems. It has been hypothesized that overeating/obesity may be protective against drug addiction. However, there are only two population-based studies examining this association. Only one of these focused specifically on young adults and none have examined whether this association is moderated by gender. This study's purpose is to examine whether there is an association between obesity and drug use and whether this association varies by gender.

METHODS: Data from the third wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed. Participants were 4,882 young adults (mean age = 21.8). Past year use rates of illicit drugs, marijuana, and hard drugs were compared among normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2) participants.

RESULTS: Compared to normal weight participants, overweight and obese participants reported significantly lower rates of illicit drug use, marijuana use and hard drug use. Analyses conducted separately by gender showed that overweight and obese males had significantly less odds of engaging in any illicit drug use (aOR=.70 and .61, respectively), marijuana use (aOR=.71 and .62, respectively) and hard drug use (aOR=.55 and .60, respectively) than normal weight males, after controlling for potential confounders.

CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that BMI is inversely associated with any illicit drug use, marijuana use and hard drug use in males, but not for females. The results thus do not uniformly support the hypothesis that obesity may be protective against drug addiction.

Learning Objectives:
1.Describe the association between obesity and drug use. 2.Demonstrate the resource of ADD Health for studying obesity and drug use.

Keywords: Obesity, Drug Use

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I assisted with the analyses
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Epidemiology of Obesity
See more of: Epidemiology