Health

Study: Obesity Virus Spreads Like the Common Cold

by Tina Kells | January 26, 2009 at 10:20 am

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A new study out today suggests that an obesity virus, not unlike that of the common cold, could be to blame for the growing epidemic of overweight people in Western nations. The virus, known as AD-36, is thought to first infect the lungs later spreading to the rest of the body where it forces fat cells to multiply.

Could this mean that a sore throat is the first sign of a pending weight gain?

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.

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duo

at 13:19 on January 26th, 2009

Thanks, Tina. I thought perhaps I had the virus until I read, "Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug." I would have rushed to the doctor to take the test for this new virus, but my weight gain has lasted 24 years already, so I suppose some other virus must be the cause. LOL!

Mary