It’s Not Your Fault if You’re Fat: It’s a Virus!

By Anastacia Mott Austin

First we were blaming our friends. Recent studies revealed that social connectivity could cause close friends to become fat together.

Now there’s even more proof that fat really is contagious.

Researchers from the Pennington Center in Louisiana presented their findings this week at the American Chemical Society conference.

Dr. Magdalena Pasarica, the lead author of the study, said that a particular type of adenovirus called AD-36, which causes respiratory infections in humans, may also be responsible for turning stem cells into fat cells.

Pasarica and her team examined stem cells which were isolated from fat removed in liposuction operations. They exposed some stem cells to the virus and left others alone. After a period of time, the stem cells infected with AD-36 developed into fat cells, while the others did not.

"We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity," said Dr. Pasarica at the conference. "But this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections."

The research team stated that the findings offer hope for treating obesity, as anti-viral drugs may have some effect on the fat cells infected with the virus. However, in animal studies involving AD-36, mice stayed obese for as long as six months after the infection had been cleared.

Pasarica added that not all people infected with AD-36 would develop obesity. Also not addressed was the fact that the stem cells studied came from the fatty tissue of people who may have already been obese – since most naturally lean folks don’t have liposuction.

Some experts expressed little patience for the findings, stating that the last thing people need is another excuse for why they are overweight.

"A vaccine won’t stop people from eating the food put in front of them at fancy restaurants," said Dr. David Haslam of the National Obesity Forum, to reporters. "It isn’t going to change people’s lifestyle. Even if a tiny part of obesity is caused by a virus, the food you put in your mouth and the activity you don’t do is the key."