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.]
Even if it’s true, it’s unlikely to have a cure. There are several metabolic diseases where you just have to reduce your caloric intact to match your metabolism. I can’t ever figure out whether The BIg Pharms are spending billions to find an effective obesity treatment, or rather profit from the drugs to treat the results of obesity. By the way if you think you’ll never have weight issues, wait until you get older and everything slows down but the appetite. I also wonder how many of the posters critical of fatties are sitting in a cubical in 48 pants and 3XL shirts on.
“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.)