Don’t Catch a Fat

Written by Bryan Lowder on 06 October 2005

Fat Virus There’s been a lot of research findings about obesity lately, but this seems to be the weirdest yet. As reported in the August 2005 ASM News (from the American Society of Microbiology) and the January 2005 International Journal of Obesity, some think that you can get fat by catching the fat flu.

Well, not flu exactly, but a human adenovirus called Ad-36. Most adenoviruses cause cold-like symptoms, but this one seems to also trigger weight gain. Richard Atkinson (president of the American Obesity Association) and others at the University of Wisconson tested obese and non-obese individuals for antibodies against Ad-36. Antibodies serve as evidence of current or past exposure to the virus.

Among the heavier group, roughly one-third had been exposed to the virus, whereas only one-tenth of the skinny folk had. Those who had the antibodies were an average of 50 pounds heavier than those that did not. Coincidence? Three related viruses were found not to differ, on average, between the husky and not.

According to Atkinson (that’s Atkinson, not Atkins), Ad-36 changes fat metabolism so that humans and other animals pack on more pounds while eating the same amount of food. This gain appears to be slow and steady, so if one gets the heads up, he or she could ward off the weight by lifestyle changes. Still, doesn’t seem fair, does it!

“If someone sneezes on you in an elevator, you may become fat,” Atkinson says. I imagine this could lead to a chilling social phenomenon. Although overweight folks have been traditionally ridiculed and somewhat excluded in our society, the plump have become more accepted as more folks find themselves in that category. Might they now be required to wear surgical masks? Be quarrantined in fat farms? Might overweight kids be even more ostracized in grade schools for having “fat cooties”? Let’s hope that, instead, this leads to greater understanding of obesity as a physical and cultural problem instead of an assumed character weakness.

Bryan Lowder is a bioengineer living with his family in Utah. He enjoys imagining that he has hobbies such as microcontroller programming, writing, mushroom culturing, and holography.


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#1 Alan Bellows 06 October 2005 at 03:10 pm

Wow, what a fascinating prospect. To think that a virus could affect the metabolism so dramatically, and for such a long term. Thanks, Bryan.

#2 Alan Bellows 06 October 2005 at 03:12 pm

By the way… the link requires a site license or a subscription to read, but the bulk of the message seems to be well represented here (no pun intended).

#3 Bryan Lowder 06 October 2005 at 03:44 pm

Sorry, most of the interesting stuff that comes by me here at the University is exclusive content. Since the sites recognize my on-campus IP and let me in, I don’t always realize they require subscriptions.

#4 Alan Bellows 06 October 2005 at 03:47 pm

No apologies necessary, really. I was merely pointing out the fact for the unaware. Very cool stuff, though.

#5 Bryan Lowder 06 October 2005 at 09:32 pm

A thought I had that I didn’t stick in the article:

I wonder what implications this virus has for human history and human host/pathogen coevolution? Think about this: those predisposed to weight gain may have an advantage in low-food situations, because they always sock a little away for a rainy day, no matter how little they are getting. The infamous example is the Pima Indians of Arizona. These individuals survive great in a lean environment when living an aboriginal lifestyle, but stick them in a supermarket and they balloon to 400 pounds plus. So what if one tribe caught the fat flu during a famine while the other tribe didn’t? The virus would then have helped the survival of its host, ensuring its own survival. Perhaps other viruses convey physical advantages to humans to ensure their own survival. It’s a very win-win situation. Farfetched? Over 80% of the human genome is DNA that appears to have come from viral ancestors.

#6 Alan Bellows 06 October 2005 at 10:54 pm

Interesting point… there are many mutually beneficial host/parasite relationships, and what is a virus if not a parasite? But wouldn’t this “benefit” have a negative impact on the host’s conversion of food-to-energy? Unless I am mistaken (and I frequently am), isn’t it much less efficient to store energy as fat and burn it later than it it is to use it now? Though clearly evolution has favored the former, so the efficiency loss must not be enough to cause a disadvantage.

This is all assuming that the virus causes the weight gain, rather than the opposite (overweight people being more susceptible to the virus, causing their higher level of infection).

#7 Bryan Lowder 07 October 2005 at 07:12 pm

Good point… the association of fat and virus doesn’t indicate which is cause and which effect. I think that, in animal models, it’s been established that the virus causes the weight gain.

It IS less efficient to burn the energy later, in addition to being less metabolically flexible. Once nutrients have been turned into fat, it’s a one-way street, whereas sugar and protein in the blood right now can be converted to anything. Evolution hasn’t favored one or the other, but has produced a combined approach. You can’t always use all your energy now, so it either gets stored or wasted.

As for “benefit”… The new phrase for symbiosis is “mutualism”, and it’s now acknowledged that benefits and drawbacks fall everywhere along a spectrum. For a human host, Ebola is at one end of the spectrum and a fetus at the other. Even the mutualism between mother and child has some competition for resources involved. And Ebola is a “dumb” virus that commits suicide by killing its host too quickly.

Benefit or drawback? It all depends on the situation at hand. Remember sickle-cell anemia and malaria.

#8 Jason Bellows 30 January 2006 at 08:20 am

I just saw this brand new article today on Scientific American.

I only hope they find a cure …

#9 JJ 20 May 2006 at 06:05 am

What about us skinny people, do you think they could be able to give this as a small dose to skinny people, and then get rid of it?

#10 needles 24 May 2006 at 05:53 pm

Article said: “Wisconson.”

It’s W-I-S-C-O-N-S-I-N. I live there, I know. Just an excuse for fat people. And I don’t mean to offend anyone, I am overweight. :-(

#11 Mez 25 September 2006 at 07:52 am

I envision vaccinations against obesity in the future.

#12 Drakvil 20 November 2006 at 10:57 am

Gee, I hope it’s an oral vaccine… and that it goes well with cookies. And pie.

#13 me09 19 December 2006 at 09:04 pm

Where’s the cure!?

#14 DanThinksDances&femaleGspot 06 August 2008 at 08:53 pm

Enter your reply text here. OK

////////////////////////////////Mez #11 September 25th, 2006 7:52 am
I envision vaccinations against obesity in the future.////////////////////////////////

Answer: It exists today. It’s called exercise. Poor people use the side walk. The rich buy a treadmill.

#15 dragondm6 11 September 2009 at 03:56 pm

Everyone is hoping for some miracle pill to make them not fat. We’ve grown to be a lazy society. We all need to do more exercise, watch what we eat, and probably exercise some more.

#16 RoflBeard 18 January 2010 at 07:32 am

dragondm6 said: “Everyone is hoping for some miracle pill to make them not fat. We’ve grown to be a lazy society. We all need to do more exercise, watch what we eat, and probably exercise some more.”

Over the years technology has advanced enough to ‘do our dirty work’ why not have it make us slim as well?
As a thriving member of this ‘lazy society’ I say bring on the anti-fat pill and another serving of pie to wash it down.

#17 DeLuzional 19 January 2010 at 08:07 am

RoflBeard said: “dragondm6 said: “Everyone is hoping for some miracle pill to make them not fat. We’ve grown to be a lazy society. We all need to do more exercise, watch what we eat, and probably exercise some more.”
Over the years technology has advanced enough to ‘do our dirty work’ why not have it make us slim as well?
As a thriving member of this ‘lazy society’ I say bring on the anti-fat pill and another serving of pie to wash it down.”

So much to do, so little time. Poof life is half over! I have never had the time to be fat! (new diet book! )(Ill be rich!)

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Don’t Catch a Fat