Slims

From: FOXNews.com - Obesity 'Virus' Spreads Like Common Cold, Scientists Say - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News

Obesity can be "caught" as easily as a common cold from other people's coughs, sneezes and dirty hands, scientists said Monday.

The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats.

Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, La., said the virus, known as AD-36, infects the lungs then whisks around the body, forcing fat cells to multiply and also causing sore throats.

"When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why the fat tissue expands and why people get fat when they are infected with this virus," Dhurandhar said.

In one test, a third of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 percent of thinner people. Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.

New research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain; evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause overweight people to gain weight.


"People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection," said Dhurandhar.

The study also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a "natural body weight" and they will always suffer hunger pangs.

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a campus of the Louisiana State University system, conducts both clinical and basic research. Its mission is to promote healthier lives through research and education in nutrition and preventive medicine.



Thoughts anybody? Personally I think this is the perfect excuse for the weight I have put on since the Holidays.

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Plan9

You've been FOX News'd!

(bites into a Snickers) I tell ya, that virus is horrible. (swallows a Baby Ruth)

...

Slims: Is that some kind of ultra-reinforced chair or what? It isn't sagging under the immense weight of the viral victim carefully perched atop it.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

blahblah454

The virus packs on a special kind of fat that is 4 times less dense than normal fat. Jeez Crompsin don't you know anything?

Fremen

I doubt it's ultra-reinforced. Why go to the bother of reinforcing it for overweight people, but not widen it?

As to the fat virus, that's freaky.

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biznatch

Oh man, that picture revived a memory I had stored away since elementary school in Ohio. A couple sitting on similar chairs, both of them offering this same shape from behind, with a large portion of visible crack.
I wish you hadn't posted it.

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ASU2003

This is one of those half-assed medical studies (no pun intended)...

I'm willing to entertain the notion that there is a virus that has weight-gain as a side effect, evolutionarily, it would make sense. But, the question is, if you treat those people with anti-virals, will they not get fat? Is there any way to test myself to see if I have it and am not fat? I've had plenty of sore throats before from all the sick kids I went to school with.

Or is this just a study that overweight people can point to and say "it's not my fault, I have this virus".

Or... I'll say it... Are we going to round up everyone that has this virus and send them the to the quarantine camps, make them pin a yellow biohazard sign on their shirts , and eat really bad food (to make them lose weight). Maybe we'll make them take the train there...
Yup, I'm going to hell.

Willravel

It seems like enabling to remove personal responsibility from the equation. I've been to a few NA meetings and they do the same thing, claiming that at least in some way you're not responsible for your actions. It's stupid.

If you want to stop being fat, you have to do it. You have to change your diet to something more healthy and you have to exercise. Your genes aren't going to stop you from picking up a cucumber instead of a Snickers when your at Safeway. A virus isn't going to stop you from doing some push-ups or walking around the block. A virus certainly isn't making you sit in front of the teevee for 4 hours a night.

ASU2003

But that's the thing, I can be lazy and eat whatever I want (even buffets), and I won't gain a pound. I sit in front of computers for 8 hours a day at work, and then for 8 more at home a lot of days. Yet, I can see my rib cage.

I'm not ready to dismiss this virus theory just yet, and I would like to see work done towards a vaccine against it to see what the impact on obesity rates would be.

Is it genes since my Dad is skinny (maybe my genes prevent me from getting this virus though), metabolism, what I eat, the level of exercise I do? This is enough of a world-wide problem that I think it should be getting a lot more research done on any lead like this that comes up.

Plan9

"The virus, known as AD-36, is also known as Universal Fat People Excuse #1."

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"You should not drink... and bake."

Willravel

The point is that I've never seen someone dedicate him or herself to real diet and exercise program and not see results. The people that don't see results generally are at the very least inconsistent with diet and exercise. Many, many people start diets and then stop them after a few weeks, citing a lack of results (I call this ADS, or American Dieter Syndrome). I have a family history of obesity, and yet my little brother and I are both in great shape and we both work hard. According to my doctor, I've likely increased my life expectancy by 15 years from diet and exercise alone. Baring an unforeseeable helicopter crash, that is.

While I'm glad that you don't have to deal with obesity, ASU, being stagnant all day and eating rubbish will catch up with you. Being skinny does not necessarily mean you're healthy. Just as a suggestion, you may want to at least try to squeeze in like 30 minutes a day of exercise.

sadistikdreams

BULL-S.

Man, what's next? No more "Night of the Living Dead"...

Now it'll be "Night of the Living Fatasses".

Come on people, it's your own damn fault.

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Daniel_

Look at the stats from the original article.

About 1 in 10 have the virus but don't get fat.

About 3 in 10 have the virus and do get fat.

That means that 7 in 10 fat people do not have the virus, and 1 in 4 people with the virus don't get fat.

This is neither an explanation of 70% of obesity, nor a cause of it in 25% of infections.

Nobody has published anything about the direction of the causality in this case. At school 20 years ago I was taught that one of the side effects of obesity was a less effective immune system; could it be that rather than proving "This virus makes you 3 times more likely to get fat" all they've done is prove "fat people are 3 times more likely to get this virus".

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dippin

not to mention that the infection can last only up to 3 months. I have never seen anyone go from fit to morbidly obese in 3 months.

ASU2003

(Actually I do exercise a lot right now and eat 90% healthy foods)

But, you guys are being pretty harsh on this small study because it doesn't fit your belief that people need to work hard to maintain a proper weight. I am willing to hear out these researchers and hope their discovery can lead to a better life for lots of people. Just because we have been told that diet and exercise are the only way to lose weight, doesn't mean that there isn't a medical problem that makes their body work against them.

telekinetic

Where was the part of this study where the virus caused their bodies to violate the laws of mass and energy?

Calories in - Calories used = Calories Stored.

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Lasereth

And I eat bran cereal for breakfast most days, vegetables for lunch, an apple or banana for a snack between meals, and soup/some sort of non fatty meat for supper; I work out every single day for 30 minutes minimum, yet I'm still fat. I've lost 75 pounds by eating differently and exercising but I am still fat. What does this say?

A friend of mine in high school did nothing. He sat around playing StarCraft all the time and watched TV and DVDs. No exercise, no sports, no activity at all. A total couch potato. The worst part is that everyday at school he would eat 2-3 slices of pepperoni pizza, a chocochip cookie, choco milk, and french fries with ranch for lunch every.day.of.the.week. Guess how fat he was? He wasn't. MAYBE 120 pounds, ribcage status. Anyone who says that all skinny people MADE themselves skinny through hardwork are bullshitting you. Yes lots and lots of them are skinny through self control and hard work but some of them aren't. That being said, some people are fat even through hardwork and self control.

Now as for it being a virus? Lawl. I think it can be genetic but it's not some disease. Ahh what I am talking about, I don't have any clue, I just know about people like you and my friend and people like me and my brother who work hard at being healthy and despite all efforts are still fat.

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Plan9

The virus we need to fight in America is "AD-37: The Self Control Sapper."

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"You should not drink... and bake."

Giant Hamburger

Willravel

Hamburger brings up a good point. Is it possible that this virus could animate dead tissue along with multiplying fat cells? It's a valid concern, imho.
-----Added 27/1/2009 at 12 : 34 : 29-----
That's good, but you may have mischaracterized your lifestyle before.
I wouldn't call it a belief that people need to work hard to maintain proper health, I'd call it an understanding. It's not dogmatic gospel, it's based on a lot of science and a lot of experience. There may very well be a virus that multiplies fat cells, but let's just be honest: some overweight people will use that as an excuse. It's enabling to provide people with excuses.

Giant Hamburger

Protip: Shoot them in the head or they might burst.

raeanna74

What about this "virus" being a side effect of being fat?? I'm sure there are plenty of viruses out there that could cause all kinds of problems. Even if this were true though. How do you explain the people that gain wight, year after year with no drop in weight. I went through a time when my metabolism dropped, and I was ill or having surgery frequently. I ended up with a quite rapid weight gain. The key there is that I didn't CONTINUE to gain weight and I even lost some of it. No one should be able to use this as an excuse for being more so exteremly obese that they can't walk. Yeah right, they're sick.
This is a worse excuse than being genetically prone to being overweight. I'm genetically prone to being diabetic, overweight, alcoholic, having hypothyroidism and having arthritis. I only have a little arthritis in my hands and I'm only about 5 lbs overweight. I take care of my hands, I avoid refined sugar, I watch how much junk food I eat, and I avoid too much alcohol or even avoid drinking too often. People who are grossly obese have NO excuse for STAYING that way.

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Plan9

What if they're not guided by their head but their constantly-growling stomach?

...

Is this virus also responsible for that disgusting fat person smell? (j/k)

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mixedmedia

oh yay.
another thread where you guys get to lord your contempt and ridicule all over fat people.
what's it about a 3-month cycle you're on?

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Baraka_Guru

Is it 3 months?

And I thought they'd have moved on to alcoholics and depressives by now.

* * * * *

But, yeah, it's good they're doing work nailing down the number of causes of (or underlying reasons for) obesity. Because, you know, it isn't just about not being able to put the fork down because you never get up from your seat next to the buffet table.

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Plan9

We ARE alcoholics and depressives.

...

MixedMedia:

Call me bitter and unenlightened, but I'd be willing to bet (within 2 standard deviations seems safe) that the obesity in the United States is caused by weak-minded individuals who make poor decisions. Personal responsibility? You betcha. We have a truckload of junk food on every corner in this country and people stupid enough to call it sustenance. Boredom and complacency and the new universal god called TeeVee = pointless eating.

Genetics, physical conditions, whatever... that's sad and we deal with it but that isn't close to the main reason: eating too much garbage.

For every jerk like me that's saying, "Control yourself!" we have another person (most likely a jerk as well) that says, "It's not their fault!"

We sit on opposite ends of the continuum and continue to watch as our society kills itself with a fuckin' spoon.

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roachboy

it'd be good to avert yet another noxious little display of self-righteousness about obesity. you know, exercise some of that self-control you're so sure you're full of and push yourself away from that feast of idiotic things that you might say.

you can do it.

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Plan9

The weight of your opinion is crushing me.

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"You should not drink... and bake."

Baraka_Guru

Of course! It's so simple!

And you're not even wearing a lab coat....

Should we burn these to the ground?

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mixedmedia

Well, it's true. There seems to be no end to the excesses in our society that are killing us, either literally or metaphorically. It's easy to make fun of fat people because you can see their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I've yet to meet a person who doesn't have them, though.

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PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Tully Mars

I don't know. I've known a lot of people who could, as the above poster states, eat day and night and not gain a thing. Literally have trouble maintaining weight. Why is that so easily accepted as a genetic or medical reason? While extra weight is almost always seen as "their fault?" My Ex brother-in-law saw several doctors due to his inability to gain weight. I'll bet he's 5'11" and under #140. Doc had him eating 3 times a day and drinking some high calorie shake thing 2 times a day. Last I saw he never gained a ounce. I worked with a guy who ate crap all night long (swing shift.) I asked him one night if he only ate at work, thought maybe he did that because meals were free at work. It was jail type food, but free. He said no, why? Turns out he'd had the lunch buffet at Pizza Hut that afternoon. If he ate there like he ate at work I'd be surprised if he didn't put them out of business. I've also known people who were over weight and didn't seem to eat jack shit, never loose a pound.

I do know overweight people are treated differently then slim people. Society, for whatever reason, responds much more positively to what's considered attractive then what's not. I've seen studies where people with just a less attractive face are treated less fairly then those with an attractive one. People will assign negative thoughts to less attractive people. Shit like the guy with the oddly shaped nose is more likely to steal. WTF?

I've always been pretty active and my body responds well to exercise and eating well. But after an injury a few years back I ended up on my back for what amounted to nearly two years. I packed on a lot of weight. When I first got out and started doing stuff again I noticed right away a difference in the way people responded to me. Same people, completely different reaction. I remember going to buy gas and stopping at a place where I'd regularly bought gas. Same lady at the cashier stand. Used to laugh and trade jokes with her. She didn't even make eye contact with me. And it wasn't just women, same type reaction from guys too. Luckily for me when I hit the gym it comes off. I'll probably never be where I was when I got hurt but people make eye contact with me now. But I know my body and I know how it reacts with different fuels and activity levels. I have no idea how someone else' system works. I think it's bull shit to assign how your body and system works to others.

Are all fat people over eaters and lazy? I don't think so. But I also don't think everyone I see that's thin as a rail is a heroin addict or too poor to buy food.

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ring

This needs to be reposted and reposted and reposted.
Every time another of these nasty, smug, judgemental,
'let's bash fat people' threads rises its zombie head once again,
I lose all respect for the people who seem like they can't help but
to post this same, cruel, vitriolic, crap...over and over again.

..and yes MM, it does seem to be a three month kinda deal.

Plan9

Where did I mention grocery stores? Turns out I don't need a lab coat to look out the window and see:


At no point did I say the problem was simple or that I had some solution.

We all have opinions and I voiced mine. No need to be rude. I believe that goes against high and mighty principles.

Society has "learned" to accept some things and yet dismisses, ignores, or rejects others without much thought.

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Willravel

You're lording your contempt over and ridiculing people that are voicing legitimate concerns regarding people's health. Or do you believe that the cause of helping people overcome obesity is just about ridicule?
Obesity is a "weakness" or "vulnerability" that one can help, which is the issue. Virtually anyone can help being fat. One can become unfat through hard work. Those that remain fat and complain about it or try to make excuses about it aren't healthy.

This study takes the focus away from proactive, successful options for obese people, and the article mischaracterized the study. Obesity cannot be "caught" at all. Viruses multiplying fat cells do not necessarily create more total mass. If one is leading a healthy lifestyle, their body regularly burns fat. The only way one can catch "fat" is if the virus is able to multiply fat faster than the body can burn it, and nothing in the study or the article suggested that.

Lasereth

Most people are fat because they don't try to be not fat, this is true. What I hate is when people generalize skinny people as being healthy and in control and fat people with being unhealthy and out of control. Being fat and healthy and in control, it burns me up to hear people saying that I'm out of control and don't try. Some people are born with great metabolism and some aren't. This is a fact. If it's not a fact then explain how my high school friend that I mentioned above isn't 300 pounds.

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Plan9

Yes. There are plenty of unhealthy "skinny" people. They don't exercise any more than overweight people, they simply starve themselves to stay thin. In doing such they also deprive their bodies of the necessary nutrients to be healthy.

Eating iceberg lettuce and saltines two meals a day with a chicken salad for dinner is a great way to get scurvy.

The problem in America, based on the numbers, is that we have a lot of people who eat too much of the wrong kind of food items and a society that has learned to accept it. Those that are far more worldly than I should know the rest of the world isn't nearly as bad.

Something is wrong when I go into a store and can't find trousers in 32x34 because the racks for men are loaded with 36x32 and 38x32.

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Willravel

You're absolutely right. Some skinny people are in absolutely horrible shape. Some people that are slightly overweight are in great shape.
What do you mean fat and healthy? Low blood pressure, regular cholesterol, regular blood sugar, and under 33% body fat percentage? Great. If you've got higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol, or are over 33% body fat, though, calling one's self healthy wouldn't be correct.

Baraka_Guru

I didn't say you did, nor did you have to.

I wasn't trying to be rude; I'm often susceptible to the tone of a thread. Sorry if I came across that way. I merely wanted you to carry on with your train of thought to say what the implications were.

This may be true, but I'm not sure what you're talking about here. What is dismissed, ignored, or rejected...could you explain what you mean?

I think it might be difficult to have 32%+ body fat and avoid high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
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Willravel

I agree, but it's not impossible. When people are losing weight, sometimes the blood pressure and cholesterol drop off faster than the fat. And, of course, some people have bad genes for fat and good genes for cholesterol.

Lasereth

Did you read my posts above? What about this guy who didn't starve himself to stay thin with iceberg lettuce:

What is there to say about this?

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Willravel

If your friend continues, he could have heart disease and diabetes in his future. You don't have to be fat to be unhealthy.