'Fat Virus' to Blame for Obesity?

I have heard it all now. There is a virus that causes you to be obese.
Not your bad habits and lack of exercise, but a virus.
Adenovirus-36 is really what makes you fat.

kdka.com...

(KDKA) Overeating and a lack of exercise may not be the only things to blame for the nation's obesity epidemic; some researchers in Virginia believe a virus may be making people gain weight.

"Well, we know viruses cause a whole lot of diseases. Viruses cause heart disease. Viruses cause diabetes. They can cause various neurological diseases. So it’s not a big surprise that a VIRUS might cause obesity." -- Dr. Richard Atkinson, "Fat Virus" Researcher

Dr. Richard Atkinson believes the culprit is something called adenovirus-36 (Ad-36). He says experiments have shown some startling results.

Well we better get on the stick and find a cure, there are more and more "fat" people everyday. So maybe it really is true, they can't help themselves, they have a virus.
"supersize me"

[edit on 19-11-2004 by valkeryie]

I hope you don't believe its actually a virus causing fat issues. Sure genetics may play a role but I don't believe there is a fat virus. If they call it a virus they can then start patenting drugs to cure it. See how its playing out? A new industry is being born, more companies are being made and the end consumers are being tricked into yet another scheme.

Don't be so hasty. Genetesists have suspected for a while now that a certain Virus or Bacteria is the cause of obesety I'll try to find the link because it will explain it way better than I could.

Gut bugs behind Obesity?

I don't believe, but someone does and is telling the "large"almost 80% of the US public that. Watch the movie "Supersize Me". With so many "big people in the States they are more then open for an invasion by a fitter country.

I *know* the guy is an MD. But that comment about "virus causing diabetes" is just.. not credible, IMHO.

That said, he IS a real researcher, he's everything the bio says, and he HAS published on this. There's a lot of other material on it, and there's a core group of researchers.

Interesting, however.

Interesting indeed, i'd need to see some more articles on the subject. I still believe that its a list of factors that contribute to obesity. As valkeryie said Super size Me pretty much sums it up.

EDIT: nevermind found a website on it

[edit on 19-11-2004 by Linux]

Funny that this so call virus has infected the US population for some unknown reason in the last 20 years I wonder.

I call it fast food and all you can eat lines.

[edit on 19-11-2004 by marg6043]

Everyone knows that buffet means 'bunch of ugly fat fu_kers eating together" fill the plate twice or more all you can eat for 9.95$.

You people have obviously missed the point. I gotta question, How many people believe being Fat is Unhealthy? Well it isn't really, its the type of fat that you have. Unfortunately, humans loose the "Good Fat" shortly after birth and its replaced by "Bad Fat" which we all abhor(and scientists are working on ways of converting the bad White Fat into the Good Brown Fat, the Inuit are the only culture of humans that still have it in abundance because they eat raw seal). But lets look at this from an evolutionary angle. Instinctually we are still hunter/gatherers and during famines who was more likely to survive the Fat or the Skinny? Farily easily the Fat person would be more likely to survive without food than the skinny person. So back in tha day Fat was in, meant you were healthy. Now in our modern sedentary lifestyle with an age expectancy of 70+years vs. 30 yrs of the past Fat has become the enemy. Why? Because we all wanna live long healthy lives but since alot of us have become so lazy it might take somthing drastic to do so. And in the interests of have a good healthcare system in the future and reducing the Heart Patients that are gonna become more and more common, we should develop a Weight Loss pill that actually works.

I agree that not all diabetes or obesity is caused by viruses. But check this out.

Now if they could just change it into that creamy aled Amber Fat called beer, I'd be the poster child for health!!

All valid points but you don't seem to see the connection between modern days, obesity and a vicious cycle of laziness/corporate control. Fat was never the enemy, any moderately smart person can tell you its the type of fat thats unhealthy for you. Raw seal is not processed with chemicals and is not injected with hormones like almost all the food we consume today. Lets face it, we need fat to survive. However when it comes to the point where you can't stop eating and won't exercise we have a problem. Applying old age examples to a modern world just won't work because its changed, we no longer hunt we shop. Developing a pill for everything is a crutch, some things need a pill.. weight loss is certainly not one of them, unless you have severe problems. What we really need is a mass 360 degree shift of public attitude towards these "foods". Which is I know.. impossible.

Yes, but isn't it odd how Obesity is quickly "becoming" an epidemic?
and it is rather debilitating

Weight loss pills? I think there's something called Bangkok pills. I heard they're outlawed due to health issues arising from it.

How about making weight-gain pills that work? It's tough to be someone who no matter how much fatty food they eat does not gain a single ounce. What's worse is that they aren't exempt from having fats in their bloodstream.

I believe it is a mutation of the "stupid virus"

Virus's dont cause obesity, Golden Coral causes obesity! for those of you that dont know, Golden Coral is a HUGE buffet. This kills me. I am about 20 pounds overweight right now, and its not some stupid virus. Its because I dont get enough exercise and I like food. Obesity is a lifestyle choice. If you dont want to get fat, then eat the things that are good for you. Get exercise. meditate and stay stress free. These are all things I did before I started school a year ago, and I dont have time to do them all now. The golden arches is a quick dinner on the way to class ya know. In a year since I quit doing those things, I have gained 20 lbs. Its not a virus, its lazyness. Its hard to be fit when you eat 10 pounds of food a day.

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There is an absolute WEALTH of research proving that obesity results from underlying chronic infections interracting with 'environmental factors.' Much of it is on file at the US National Institutes of Health PubMed database, and with the EPA's "Environmental Perspectives" online journal.

FYI - the so-called "genetic" component results from mutations caused both by disease and exposure to environmental contamination. ...Also, food contaminations transmit the infections and accelerate disease progression.

Current spin is pure bs, designed to protect government and corporations from liability lawsuits by blaming the victims.



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Really, blaming obesity on genetics or a virus is just a way for people to abdicate responsibility for their own health. Obesity, like someone said, is a lifestyle choice. Obesity is caused by eating too much of the wrong foods. Fix it by dieting, not by taking a pill.

I have said that your honesty about your post is remarkable, at least your recognized that your life style habits are to blame for your weight gain, most people wants to blame everybody else but the real problem, is not such thing as a virus, the medical community wants you to believe that so they can sell to you pills that are going to damage your health but will never make you the slim trim in the commercials, that is through diet and exercise.

We have become a society that spends too much time sitting and eating and not enough exercise.

Fast food is chipper, ready to eat and readily available.

I hate golden corral I by pass it all the time, my husband wants to go there but I tell him, "just imagine all the people on top of the food talking sniffing and spitting all over the food." my husband say I am nasty, not is the truth,

Specially the children they wipe their noses and then they touch the food.

Disgusting. YuKKKKK

Can you imagine if we have a draft, how they are going to have all those young people in shape in time.?

Now I am not going to denied that some people have problems with obesity but is not everybody OK, most of the rest is just laziness.

I am not recommending medication. I AM saying obesity is one symptom of several infectious and ultimately life threatening epidemics now rampant in the USA.

Note: infectious is not synonynous with contagious.

Please - review the research before formulating an "opinion."



.Fixed brain burp typo.

[edit on 20-11-2004 by soficrow]