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I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Strategery ()
Date: January 26, 2009 11:08AM

So, it wasn't the all the McDonald's and lack of exercise after all....

------------------------------------
Obesity Caught Like Common Cold

Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36 at some point in their lives, according to an article in the UK's Daily Express, whereas only 11 per cent of lean men and women have had the virus.

The research, to be presented in a BBC television special, is not big news to scientists, however. Further, some worry that the portrayal of obesity as something you simply catch could obscure the fact that overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity.

The facts

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one-third of U.S. adults are obese, as are 16 percent of children and adolescents age 2 to 19.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses.

It is increasingly clear, several experts say, that viruses might play a role in some obesity cases. There are 49 known human adenoviruses. They cause everything from the common cold to gastrointestinal problems and eye inflammation, pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis.

AD-36 was first fingered as being possibly linked to obesity more than a decade ago. Nikhil Dhurandhar, of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, and a colleague made the connection in 1997 in research presented at an annual Experimental Biology meeting. That preliminary study of 199 people found that up to 15 percent of them carried antibodies to the virus, which provided indirect evidence that they once were exposed to the virus itself.

Prior to that, Dhurandhar had showed that another type of adenovirus that infects birds and is found only in his native India could induce obesity when it was injected into chickens.

In 2006, research led by Leah Whigham of the departments of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison found that another human adenovirus, AD-37, causes obesity in chickens. The results were published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology published by the American Physiological Society.

Then in 2007, researchers found that AD-36 could transform adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. "We're not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections," Magdalena Pasarica of Louisiana State University (and a colleague of Dhurandhar) said at the time.

Today's claim

Today, Dhurandhar said it's the spreading of the virus to other parts of the body that's key to its ability to fuel obesity. "When it 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 people get fat when they are infected with this virus," he said in the Daily Express.

Other researchers point out that the prime cause of obesity is still likely to be environmental, as in what you eat.

"These associations may give some clues but they detract from the basic message that we all need to take more exercise and eat a bit less," said Tony Barnett, professor of medicine at the University of Birmingham.

And as if all this isn't confusing enough, a study earlier this month suggested that exercise, despite its many benefits, it not as important in avoiding obesity as is a better diet.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Date: January 26, 2009 12:57PM

Always an excuse, isn't there? If it's not this, it's "I have a slow metabolism."

Bullshit! Show me a fat Ethiopian refugee. You won't find any.

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: January 26, 2009 02:51PM

WashingTone Locian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Always an excuse, isn't there? If it's not this,
> it's "I have a slow metabolism."
>
> Bullshit! Show me a fat Ethiopian refugee. You
> won't find any.


there is a genetic like to obesity as an evolutionary trait. however, the amount of people that have this is gene is unclear.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2946473.stm

i do agree that it's more likely that obesity is caused by environmental factors leading to lack of exercise and poor diet. ultimately, fat is caused by the high efficiency of our body's chemical conversion process and the ability to store excess energy. if our bodies sucked at this process, people could be bone thin.

obesity is scientifically explainable by genetics but we have the means to overcome such obstacles.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: MrMephisto ()
Date: January 26, 2009 02:59PM

Fat people, feel free to print out this handy weight loss companion. Give one to your fat friends!
Attachments:
diet aid.PNG

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Date: January 26, 2009 08:51PM

I don't doubt that a percentage of people are genetically pre-disposed to be overweight. But I don't believe they are genetically pre-disposed to be obese.

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Bob ()
Date: January 27, 2009 02:02AM

WashingToneLocian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't doubt that a percentage of people are
> genetically pre-disposed to be overweight. But I
> don't believe they are genetically pre-disposed to
> be obese.


Some people are genetically prone to lung cancer. However, unless they smoke or work with asbestos or around diesel fumes, they're not going to get lung cancer.

As Carlos Mencia says "The reason you're fat is because you put more into here (pointing to his mouth) than came out here (pointing to his ass)"

I wish I could find a clip where he says that but this is still pretty funny...

http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-out.png";);">

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Bob ()
Date: January 27, 2009 02:21AM

Strategery Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese
> adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36
> at some point in their lives, according to an
> article in the UK's Daily Express, whereas only 11
> per cent of lean men and women have had the virus.
>

I can't believe that any scientist would even consider publishing a "study" like this. Correlation does not imply causation.

Why would 11 percent of non-fat people have the same virus and not get fat? Why do only 33 percent of fat people have the virus but not the rest? Could it be possible that more fat people have the virus because their obesity makes them more susceptible to the virus? Or that they eat so much damn food that they are more likely to eat something contaminated with the virus? Or they have other lifestyle factors related to being fat that puts them more at risk of the virus?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation
In a widely-studied example, numerous epidemiological studies showed that women who were taking combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) also had a lower-than-average incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), leading doctors to propose that HRT was protective against CHD. But controlled trials showed that HRT caused a small and significant increase in risk of CHD. Re-analysis of the data showed that women undertaking HRT were more likely to be from socio-economic groups ABC1, with better than average diet and exercise regimes. The two were coincident effects of a common cause, rather than cause and effect as had been supposed.[1]


However, it should be noted that:

Researchers at the Aabo Akademi found that Finns who speak the language of their Nordic neighbors were up to 25 percent less likely to fall ill than those who do not.

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: January 28, 2009 03:12PM

Bob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Correlation does not imply causation.


bullshit! as the number of pirates and ninjas have decreased, the higher the CO2 levels have risen. totally related no matter what you think.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Bob ()
Date: January 29, 2009 01:12AM

Gravis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Correlation does not imply causation.
>
> bullshit! as the number of pirates and ninjas
> have decreased, the higher the CO2 levels have
> risen. totally related no matter what you think.


I stand corrected.

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: January 29, 2009 02:30AM

Um Gravis, statistical data recently has indicated that pirates are in fact more numerous than 50 years ago, and yet the CO2 levels continue to climb. Unless you can make a stronger argument using ninjas, I am afraid you have been debunked.

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Re: I Caught The Fat Bug
Posted by: Genevieve ()
Date: January 29, 2009 01:55PM

RESton Peace Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Um Gravis, statistical data recently has indicated
> that pirates are in fact more numerous than 50
> years ago, and yet the CO2 levels continue to
> climb. Unless you can make a stronger argument
> using ninjas, I am afraid you have been debunked.

That must be really upsetting news to Pastafarians.

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