Beware the fat virus

Being fat may be catching, a new study reveals

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Daily Telegraph

A vaccine to cut the risk of becoming overweight could be ready for testing within the next five years, according to research that suggests obesity can sometimes be catching.

A common virus may be one factor that contributes to the obesity epidemic sweeping the west, according to the research in the United States.

Man eating a burger: New research suggests a possible link between a virus and obesity
There is still a lot of evidence that eating too much and doing too little is strongly linked to obesity

Although there is overwhelming evidence that obesity is linked to eating too many calories or burning too few, other factors are now thought to play a role, from lack of sleep to changes in stomach bacteria and now, thanks to new experiments, a common virus.

Obese people sometimes blame glands, metabolism or "heavy bones" for their weight problem.

This study gives up to 30 per cent of them a new excuse - they "caught" their obesity in much the same way as they might catch a common cold.

In experiments, scientists in Louisiana showed that infection with human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), long recognised as a cause of colds and eye infections, transforms adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells, whereas stem cells not exposed to the virus were unchanged.

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