The Obesity Virus Facts

Infectobesity - Fact And Fiction About The Obesity Virus

Tom Venuto
Burn the Fat

It never ceases to amaze me how the media is so quick to jump on any study that has the slightest ring of "sensational or controversial news" written all over it, or how quickly the public accepts media reports at face value without further investigation. Case in point: Look at how much national publicity was given this week to something as esoteric as an in vitro study about an obesity virus…

Obesity viruses are not new news, as there have been 10 adipogenic pathogens reported in the scientific literature in the past two decades, including human and animal viruses, bacteria, and gut microflora.

In this case, adenovirus-36 (AD-36) was named as a potential culprit.

So far however, the theory of viruses causing human obesity is controversial and unproven, and the research has only been conducted in cell cultures and in chickens, rhesus monkeys, hamsters and rats.

Although antibodies have been found in some humans who volunteered for a screening, there is no causative evidence whatsoever, and we may never get such evidence because there are ethical considerations in infecting humans with a virus (thus the cell culture and animal research).

Human beings are very complex organisms and collections of complex systems which interact with one another, so research on cells in a dish does not prove cause and effect in humans. Rodent research is also often irrelevant to humans.

These types of studies only suggest an association, they allow scientists to form new hypotheses and provide insight on areas for potential future research about "such a possibility in humans."

An interesting twist to this story that not many people know about is that some of the virus research was supported by the corporation that owns the patents on and markets assays to detect the "infection" and is working to develop the vaccine.

Wouldn't it be "convenient" to convince the public that a virus is responsible for obesity? They'd be lining their pockets at the same time as they convinced everyone that "it wasn't their fault."

Coincidentally, one of the stories published by a major news web site was not their own investigative reporting, but came straight from a press release from the aformentioned corporation.

If an obesity virus (aka "infectobesity") ever turns out to amount to anything in humans, it will most likely be a very small minority of cases, similar to the tiny percentage of cases where there is actually a gene defect which causes obesity.

Infectious pathogens are not the reason so many people are overweight, although it gives people yet another reason to blame their condition on something other than themselves.

Viruses (as with genetics) could indeed explain a rare case, so they should not be completely ruled out, but they certainly don't explain the increases in obesity over last several decades.

Fat loss always did and always will boil down to calories in versus calories out… and the acceptance of personal responsibility necesary to make sure that the calorie balance equation is obeyed consistently.

You can learn more about the law of calorie balance and the fat loss truth in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.

Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Burn The Fat