Childhood viral infection and obesity
At least part of the blame for childhood obesity might be traced to an unexpected cause - a certain strain of the virus that causes the common cold.
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At least part of the blame for childhood obesity might be traced to an unexpected cause - a certain strain of the virus that causes the common cold.
Extra weight is a major concern at any age, but is especially so for a child as obesity can be a marker for future health problems like heart disease, liver disease and diabetes. An extra 35 to 50 pounds is more than enough to greatly increase those risks. Many risk factors for childhood obesity have been identified: poor eating habits or overeating, lack of exercise, family history, ethnicity, psychological problems such as stress or depression, family circumstances or socioeconomic status. While an association between viral infection and obesity in both animals and human adults has been previously described, the exact relationship between those factors still isn't well known.
Researchers in United States studied 124 children of diverse ethnic background, between the ages of 8 and 18 years, for the presence of antibodies specific to adenovirus 36 (AD36). It is one of more than 50 strains of adenovirus known to infect humans and cause a variety of respiratory, gastrointestinal and other infections. AD36 is the only human adenovirus currently linked to human obesity. . More than half of the children - 67 - were considered obese based on their body-mass measurements for their age and gender. Fifteen percent of the children had antibodies to AD36, which means that at some point, they had been infected with this virus. Almost one in four (22 percent) obese children tested positive for AD36 compared to just 7 percent of the non-obese children. On average, children who were positive for a previous adenovirus 36 infection were about 50 pounds heavier than those who tested negative. Even within the entire group of obese children, those who were AD36-positive weighed about 35 pounds more than obese children who hadn't been infected with AD36. In cell cultures the virus infects immature fat cells, prompting them to develop more quickly and proliferate in greater numbers than normal and this might be the mechanism for obesity.
The study doesn't, however, suggest that people should give up on healthy eating and exercise. Regardless of the extent to which this impacts body weight, there's no question that eating healthfully and having regular, fun physical activity is good for you. What the researchers do hope the findings will do is get people to move away from assigning blame, and broaden the way we think about obesity. Currently, there's a somewhat simplistic belief that obesity is just a person's own fault, or in the case of children, the fault of the family. This work helps point out that body weight is more complicated than it's made out to be and this study adds credence to the concept that an infection can be a cause or contributor to obesity.
If the association proves true, a vaccine could be developed against AD36 that might help prevent obesity - although that's still a long way off. In addition, for those who've already been infected with AD36, knowing that there's a potential viral cause might eventually lead to changes in the way certain people are treated for obesity.
Extra weight is a major concern at any age, but is especially so for a child as obesity can be a marker for future health problems like heart disease, liver disease and diabetes. An extra 35 to 50 pounds is more than enough to greatly increase those risks. Many risk factors for childhood obesity have been identified: poor eating habits or overeating, lack of exercise, family history, ethnicity, psychological problems such as stress or depression, family circumstances or socioeconomic status. While an association between viral infection and obesity in both animals and human adults has been previously described, the exact relationship between those factors still isn't well known.
Researchers in United States studied 124 children of diverse ethnic background, between the ages of 8 and 18 years, for the presence of antibodies specific to adenovirus 36 (AD36). It is one of more than 50 strains of adenovirus known to infect humans and cause a variety of respiratory, gastrointestinal and other infections. AD36 is the only human adenovirus currently linked to human obesity. . More than half of the children - 67 - were considered obese based on their body-mass measurements for their age and gender. Fifteen percent of the children had antibodies to AD36, which means that at some point, they had been infected with this virus. Almost one in four (22 percent) obese children tested positive for AD36 compared to just 7 percent of the non-obese children. On average, children who were positive for a previous adenovirus 36 infection were about 50 pounds heavier than those who tested negative. Even within the entire group of obese children, those who were AD36-positive weighed about 35 pounds more than obese children who hadn't been infected with AD36. In cell cultures the virus infects immature fat cells, prompting them to develop more quickly and proliferate in greater numbers than normal and this might be the mechanism for obesity.
The study doesn't, however, suggest that people should give up on healthy eating and exercise. Regardless of the extent to which this impacts body weight, there's no question that eating healthfully and having regular, fun physical activity is good for you. What the researchers do hope the findings will do is get people to move away from assigning blame, and broaden the way we think about obesity. Currently, there's a somewhat simplistic belief that obesity is just a person's own fault, or in the case of children, the fault of the family. This work helps point out that body weight is more complicated than it's made out to be and this study adds credence to the concept that an infection can be a cause or contributor to obesity.
If the association proves true, a vaccine could be developed against AD36 that might help prevent obesity - although that's still a long way off. In addition, for those who've already been infected with AD36, knowing that there's a potential viral cause might eventually lead to changes in the way certain people are treated for obesity.
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