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.
Great, so now I have to keep a can of Lysol at my desk and spray the fat people when they get near me?
Did they ever think maybe the weight gain is attributed to the fact that people with the soar throat might have a cold…and maybe don’t work out or remain active when ill?
Sounds like typical “victimization mentality” to me. Its not my fault I have a lard ass, I’m a victim of a virus.
BS.
“The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats.”
So, all we need to do it put this virus in an aerosol and spread it around areas of famine and, ‘poof’, fat people.
So now all you fatties can say “I have big bones” AND “I have the fat virus”.
You fat fatties you.
I caught it from a plate of chicken wings.
Makes sense to me, after all, would a diet of fatty foods with little nutritional value and a lack of exercise have to do with it …
McCullough said:
“Great, so now I have to keep a can of Lysol at my desk and spray the fat people when they get near me?”
No, dude, you drink the lysol so you don’t catch it…
Here they are crop dusting:
# 4 Neo-postmodernist Ben said, “Makes sense to me, after all, would a diet of fatty foods with little nutritional value and a lack of exercise have to do with it …”
Less than you think. It is a diet that is high in carbs that gets you fat and eventually causes Type 2 diabetes.
#7. Classic Handle Poppa!
It’s the Jesus virus.
It can turn one piece of fish and one piece of bread into enough to feed Ethiopia.
In fact I knew doctors who talked seriously about an “obesity infection” , though they were talking about bacteria instead of a virus, but still.
Some people without immunity can get fat from sickness. If only 30% of obeses have it doesn’t mean their obesity wasn’t first a dominant factor for getting the sickness.
Still, the fishyness of this article isn’t near the “bullshit” treshold, even though it comes from FOX 🙂
Even if this phenomenon is real doesn’t account for the HUGE amount of big a**es. It would still be funny to take the treat seriously and start to prevent a virus outbreak. All the fatties in concentration camps to be sanitized! That would do the trick! 😉
Somehow I feel the bullshit’o meter was used in vain on that one
[Duplicate comment deleted. Please don’t double post! – ed.]
“I joined the army to loose weight, My doctor said I was swallowing a lot of anger… along with a lot of pizzas”.
~ Ox, from “Stripes”
“a third of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus”
If 1/3 of obese people have it, you can’t call it “rare”.
The idea of multiplying fat cells should move the needle further to right on the bullshitometer.
I always knew there was something funny about that Airborne product.
#14, that is news to me too because all the research I have ever heard about said that each person is born with a set amount of fat cells. It is just the growing and shrinking of them that changes.
Why does this culture keep looking for excuses as to why obesity is out of control? Own up to it… eat cleaner and move more. Too bad that something so simple is too hard for people to do.
A rather large person I know thinks he has found the cause for his weight gain recently… all the acid in foods! Alkalinized water is his new diet. LOL!
So you get fat by inhaling something? Like a plate of cheeseburgers or something?
#16 “Alkalinized water is his new diet. LOL!”
That will make you lose weight. If you drink a lot of water it has fewer calories than pop(soda, cola, Mt. Dew) and you get exercise by having to get up and walk to the bathroom a lot.
#17, Substituting any kind of sugary caloric drink with water would have that effect. It doesn’t need to be special alkalinized water!
#18 “Substituting any kind of sugary caloric drink with water would have that effect. It doesn’t need to be special alkalinized water!”
Not that special. I could make it almost free with water and baking soda. (I paid $0.38 for a box of baking soda Saturday. Not all groceries have gone up.)
#16
MY stomach uses HCl with a ph 1-3 to break down food. Perhaps lots and lots of alkali water would impair your friend’s ability to digest and result in weightloss.
I need a Tums every once in awhile.
#20 MY stomach uses HCl with a ph 1-3 to break down food. Perhaps lots and lots of alkali water would impair your friend’s ability to digest and result in weightloss.
I need a Tums every once in awhile.
Not really. Anything you eat/drink should be less acidic then stomach acid. Eating/drinking would raise you stomach PH. Somehow, no matter how much you eat, your stomach acid stays acidic. I think the body constantly reduces the PH of stomach acid.
Tums are alkaline, the purpose of which is to reduce the acidity of your stomach acid.
Water itself is slightly acidic/alkaline depending on where you live. Municipalities use soda ash to counteract the chlorine (which they add) in the water. Depending how much of each, water has different PHs.
Still, I would agree with Stephanie that drinking water instead of sugary soda would be better for you. In any case, drinking more water would cause you to walk to the restroom more often and you could get exercise that way.
What’s the emoticon for sarcasm?
Apparently I need it.
Well, they did used think that stomach ulcers were caused by food choices. Then they found the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, and those ideas went the way of the dodo. . . An anti-fat vaccine could be useful, but how do we treat the people who have already been affected.
God damn those scientists!
This would never have happened if we’d just given everyone a good hard dose of Christianity!: “Guns don’t kill people – GOD kills people (Mostly sinners, but there’s the occasional virtuous sacrifice in there)”
# 24 Li said, “but how do we treat the people who have already been affected.”
By having them eat less. If you visit, let’s say, Ethiopia for instance, you’ll find it is 100% effective in preventing the “virus” from causing obesity.
@#1
EXACTLY.. also the notion that most people pig out while they are sick like this. You know how they always say you should “feed a cold.”
Who knows? Maybe he could be right, after all.
Barry Marshall and Robert Warren claimed that peptic ulcer disease was not caused merely by overproduction of gastric acid, but rather by a specific bacterium: Helicobacter pylori, to be specific.
And at that time (early 80s) the medical stablishment ridiculed them until they won the nobel prize for it.
I have noted the position of the needle indicator on the bullshitometer however, I am not taking any chances. I plan to sit only between skinny people from now on and refrain from eating anything with peanutbutter in it.
I recall as a kid in Indiana, eating strawberries right out of the patch without washing them. We all did and no one became ill. How did out world become so poluted and dangerous?
Bet this study was sponsored by the AJFM. The Association of Junk Food Manufacturers (I made that up). So it’s a virus now. And that lets these manufacturers off the hook, for loading up their goods with high calorie ingredients. And over-marketing their products in the media. Like Tv ads for pizza at 12am. Like, “Hey, while you’re watching Letterman, order a pizza.” We’d all be a whole lot healthier if we learned to stop eating by 8pm. Though I’m sure a lot of restaurants would take exception to that.
If this fat virus thing is true, then the secret must be revealed. That Oprah is its Typhoid Mary. Just kidding.
“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”
Viruses have always replicated themselves. But usually this DESTROYS the host cells. This is the first time I’ve ever heard that a virus causes new cells to appear. Could this be an error in the report, or in the study? If anything, this virus should reduce the number of fat cells one has. So what’s really going on here? Is FOX attempting to slam NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” ratings, to boost American Idol’s?