Obesity Virus Alert
by Alan Cooper
(Editor)
Dr Jeffrey Schwimmer: Has he found proof of an obesity virus?
What if you could catch obesity like a cold? It's a scary thought, but a recent study has found that it might just be true! Researchers have fingered a virus called adenovirus 36 (AD-36 for short) as a possible culprit in rising levels of obesity among adults, kids and teens. The latest study, led by Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Rady Children's Hospital and the University of California, in San Diego, involved 124 children between the ages of 8 and 18. Schwimmer said the results support a link between AD-36 and higher body weight. Children who tested positive for AD-36 weighed about 50 pounds more than those who tested negative.