Marijuana use might lead to the formation of man boobs, Dr. Anthony Youn from Detroit says.
You'll be surprised to know that approximately 41 percent of men aged between 25 and 45 years suffer from a condition called gynecomastia, commonly known as man boobs or moobs. The condition is even more prominent during puberty when almost 61 percent boys aged 14 years suffer from the condition.
So what causes gynecomastia? Dr. Anthony Youn, a plastic surgeon from Detroit found a "probable" answer to this question during a recent encounter with a patient, reports CNN. Talking to the news channel about the event, Youn said that the patient came to him complaining about man boobs. When the doctor asked him when he noticed this problem, the patient replied it had been a while, though the condition worsened over the years.
During the conversation, Youn smelled marijuana on his breath, a familiar smell at rock concerts, and asked him whether he smoke pot and if so he should discontnue. The use of weed was a probable cause for his man boobs.
The mechanism behind marijuana use causing man boobs
The first study connecting marijuana use and gynecomastia was conducted in 1972. However, findings of the study were abandoned after a contradicting study revealing no connection between the two was released in 1977. Following this, many studies confirmed that testosterone levels were lower in chronic marijuana users compared to nonusers but none of them could prove that weed was responsible for it.
Now with the legalization of marijuana use in many U.S. states, researchers will be able to conduct more studies to provide proof of a link between marijuana use and gynecomastia, if any.
Statistics and Facts
Though this condition self-cures within a period ranging from a few months to a few years, more than 23,000 people have undergone surgery to correct the condition, according to an American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) report. In fact in 2012, it was the fifth-most common cosmetic surgery in men.
This is not the first side effects of marijuana use scientists have detected in men. Previous studies also claimed that smoking of weed reduces testicular size and causes abnormalities in the formation and functions of sperm, impairing male fertility.
