Despite the stereotype that stoners are lazy and constantly eating, their bodies tell a different story. Several recent studies have found that daily marijuana use is associated with a lower BMI, smaller waist circumference, and lower fasting insulin levels. Some marijuana growers are marketing strains specifically for weight loss. Does that mean cannabis is the secret to losing your love handles? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“Most observational studies of cannabis use and diabetes or obesity have shown a correlation between cannabis use and lower risk of obesity or diabetes. However, correlation does not imply causation,” says Jeff Chen, M.D., M.B.A., the director of the Cannabis Research Initiative at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Many lifestyle factors could explain this correlation. “For example, perhaps people who are obese or diabetic avoid things like cannabis because of concerns about its health effects,” Chen says. (If that were true, it would diminish weed’s apparent role in helping people stay thin.) “Alternatively, people who consume cannabis may tend to exercise more or eat healthier,” he explains. (If that were true, it would support the notion that weed helps people lose weight.)

Either way, it’s much too early to say that marijuana is the reason why cannabis users are thinner. So far, broad sociological studies on weed use merely indicate correlation, rather than causation.