Obesity has been blamed on everything from weak will to genetics to internal body thermostats to the Evils of the McDonalds Corporation. But there’s some evidence that some obesity — and perhaps the “obesity epidemic” — may be caused by a virus.
There is accumulating evidence that certain viruses may cause obesity, in essence making obesity contagious, according to Leah D. Whigham, the lead researcher in a new study, “Adipogenic potential of multiple human adenoviruses in vivo and in vitro in animals,” in the January issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology published by the American Physiological Society.
The study, by Whigham, Barbara A. Israel and Richard L. Atkinson, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that the human adenovirus Ad-37 causes obesity in chickens. This finding builds on studies that two related viruses, Ad-36 and Ad-5, also cause obesity in animals.
Moreover, Ad-36 has been associated with human obesity, leading researchers to suspect that Ad-37 also may be implicated in human obesity. Whigham said more research is needed to find out if Ad-37 causes obesity in humans. One study was inconclusive, because only a handful of people showed evidence of infection with Ad-37 — not enough people to draw any conclusions, she said. Ad-37, Ad-36 and Ad-5 are part of a family of approximately 50 viruses known as human adenoviruses.
Note that screening tests and vaccines, even if this pans out, are a long ways off.
(via BoingBoing)
Wait… Obesity is contagious?!?
That would certainly be one conclusion (and might partically explain propensity within families, too).
It would also explain why so many people seem to have such extraordinary difficulty with dieting, while others seem to have no problem going on a diet and dropping 85 lbs and getting an endorsement gig.
*coughcough*
Yeah, I feel a bit ill.
Further on in the article, I seem to recall that it says soemthing that I thought was quite sensible, to the effect that obesity is probably a result of a number of interacting factors. They note that some people have antibodies against the suspect virus (indicating they are infected) who are not obese. It makes a lot of sense to me to think that human biology is complex and influenced by a number of different things. It would be very interesting and perhaps something that we could act on if a virus contributed to the obesity epidemic, but I doubt they will be able to give people a vaccination that will cure people of their obesity or prevent everyone from ever becoming obese.
Oh, you and your defeatist “There’s no Perfect Cure to The Ills of the Flesh”!
I want my Perfect Handsome Pills. And my Fat Vaccine! And Flying Cars! I was promised Flying Cars!