Obesity 'Can Be Caught Like A Cold'

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1-31-2006 | Roger Highfield

[blam]

Obesity 'can be caught like a cold'

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 31/01/2006)

Evidence that obesity could be contagious was published yesterday by American researchers - and washing your hands could be an elementary step to avoiding the virus and becoming overweight.

A team led by Dr Leah Whigham, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that the human adenovirus Ad-37 causes obesity in chickens, marking the third virus to be linked to being overweight: 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.

"We know Ad-36, and now Ad-37, cause obesity in animals," said Dr Whigham, whose findings are reported in the American Journal of Physiology.

"But we do not have cause-and-effect data in humans - you cannot ethically do the experiments for that kind of data: infect humans and see if they get fat."

The notion that viruses can cause obesity has been a contentious one among scientists, she admitted. And yet, there is evidence that factors other than poor diet or lack of exercise may be at work.

"With the exception of infectious diseases, no other chronic disease in history has spread so rapidly," Dr Whigham said.

"The nearly simultaneous increase in obesity in most countries is difficult to explain by changes in food intake and exercise alone, and suggest that adenoviruses could have contributed."

[utahagen]

The only affliction Fat Ted has ever "caught" is VD.

[wildehunt]

[tioga]

I think diet coke/pepsi whatever.......causes obesity.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Why fat people shouldn't bungee jump: (possibly NSFFR)

http://weirdoscorporation.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/fatperson.jpg

[wildehunt]

That was probably the only way they could get out of the 4th floor walk up.