Obesity Caught Like Common Cold?

[n2doc]

By Robert Roy Britt, Editorial Director
posted: 26 January 2009 09:58 am ET

Yet another claim that a common and contagious virus is linked to some cases of obesity is in the news today.

Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36 at some point in their lives, according to an article in the UK's Daily Express, whereas only 11 per cent of lean men and women have had the virus.

The research, to be presented in a BBC television special, is not big news to scientists, however. Further, some worry that the portrayal of obesity as something you simply catch could obscure the fact that overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity.

The facts

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one-third of U.S. adults are obese, as are 16 percent of children and adolescents age 2 to 19.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses.

It is increasingly clear, several experts say, that viruses might play a role in some obesity cases. There are 49 known human adenoviruses. They cause everything from the common cold to gastrointestinal problems and eye inflammation, pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis.

more:

http://www.livescience.com/health/090126-obesity-virus.html

[Ernesto]

1. Sounds like big pharma is at it again......

Invent a need for a new pill!

[RC]

3. Actually, no. This is not a new idea. It is several years old.

[lizerdbits]

4. All right!

[bunnies]

2. Sweet!

Now I have a new excuse for gaining weight. I knew one would come along eventually! :bounce:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

5. Is it possible that obesity makes one more susceptible to the virus?

[salvorhardin]

6. No, the research suggests that adenoviruses are causal in some cases of obesity

The article even mentions that chickens when injected with some adenoviruses then develop obesity. I'm not sure anyone knows why yet. It's interesting research in that it shows that obesity is complicated. I don't know why anyone would think otherwise. When you talk about human weight maintenance you're essentially talking about the entire homeostatic process which involves the whole body. That there should be differing mechanisms that can be disrupted isn't all that surprising IMHO.

Of course, there's going to be a lot of people who are going to look at this kind of research through a pop-media lens and conclude that their obesity really isn't their responsibility.

[unc70]

9. I have been posting about this for several years

This adenovirus disrupts the normal protein control mechanism for satiation and for how much fat is stored within individual cells. Lab animals infected with AD-36 gain nearly twice as much weight as the control group fed the same rations. This virus apparently jumped from fowl to mammals around 1978 in South Asia.

This virus may spread, at least in part, with the help of some insect -- similar to some other AD such as the one for "pink eye".

The blood test for antibodies became available about two years ago. Therapies being tested involve re-regulating the leptin feedback system. Long-term goal is a vaccine.

The blood test and more info is available through a company started by one of the researchers, now at VCU. Just search for "adenovirus obesity" and you will find a lot of info.

[hedgehog]

7. "Further, some worry that the portrayal of obesity as something you

simply catch could obscure the fact that overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity."

Could it be that dedication to the untested theory that " overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity" is holding back research into the actual cause(s)?

[HamdenRice]

8. I wonder if this related to my first job -- "rat boy" in the physiological psychology lab?

My first job was a part time internship at the physiological psychology lab at a local university. They were working on obesity in rats. They would use electrodes to zap (destroy) a small part of the rat's brain involved in satiation.

The rats then grew enormously fat. They also became hyper aggressive. My job was to weight them each day and their food intake.

Anyway, if there were a virus that could cross the blood brain barrier and affect that tiny part of the brain those scientists were working on, it could definitely cause contagious obesity.

[Warpy]

10. Epidemiologists have noted for some years

that the pattern of increasing obesity rates in the US, which started near the Gulf coast, has been proceeding along pretty classical lines of epidemic infection.

I know when I blimped up, I hadn't changed my diet or exercise.

[unc70]

11. That pattern starting near Gulf consistent with insect involvement

As you say, it looks like a classic epidemic. The CDC maps of obesity levels by county over time starting along the Gulf coast and spreading north supports the theory that insects may help spread the virus. There are similar spread patterns in other parts of the world.

If you think this could have affected you, it would probably be worth getting the blood test for anti-bodies.

[Abq_Sarah]

12. Follow the money

http://www.obesityvirus.com/

That website and the company who provide the tests are owned by the two researchers who "discovered" the gene. Their goal is to patent a drug to "fix" the problem.

http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Weight_Centre/15-51-2954-2955,42522.asp

This is a scam reported as news.

[gongsnotbongs]

13. LOL- I 'caught' this box of Ding Dongs I just ate!

Must be a virus!:rofl: