The Mysterious Virus That Could Cause Obesity
December 31, 2016 2:10 PM   Subscribe

 
This is neat and all, but what is involved in the treatment? The article only mentions going to lectures. Is the other part diet and exercise? As mentioned earlier in the article, a regimen of a strict diet and exercise wasn't really helping this Randy fellow. Or did I miss something?
posted by NoMich at 2:35 PM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]


FINALLY! A reasonable excuse!!
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:39 PM on December 31, 2016 [4 favorites]


I don't think they ever mentioned a treatment for being infected with the virus. And Randy's new doctor's treatment appears to be behavior modification like is demanded of most of those trying to lose weight.
posted by hippybear at 2:40 PM on December 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


This is neat and all, but what is involved in the treatment?

You have to buy the book to find out. There's a helpful link to amazon at the bottom of the advert article.
posted by adept256 at 2:43 PM on December 31, 2016 [6 favorites]


An excerpt from a book about fat and dieting published just in time for new year's. What are the odds?

On the other hand...
*looks down at waistline*
*thinks back to four years working in an adenovirus lab*
hmmm...
*munches pizza thoughtfully*
posted by metaBugs at 2:44 PM on December 31, 2016 [31 favorites]


I've got a disease. And the only cure--is this whole bag of potato chips.
posted by resurrexit at 2:45 PM on December 31, 2016 [7 favorites]


You'd think Wired of all people would recognize the danger of ad-delivered malware.

Yeah, Wired's little anti-ad-blocker schtick has ensured that I will never be able to read any of their articles. Which I'm sure they're fine with, but it also means I'll never end up sharing any of their articles, so, yeah.
posted by dersins at 2:50 PM on December 31, 2016 [8 favorites]


Chance this will help people have fair, understanding, and respectful discussions about obesity? Very, very low.
posted by evilangela at 2:52 PM on December 31, 2016 [19 favorites]


This is neat and all, but what is involved in the treatment?
It's not clear from the article that there is any treatment for the virus right now. But understanding what causes something is often a first step to coming up with treatment, plus the part where it has the possibility to reduce stigma and help us better understand biological processes.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:58 PM on December 31, 2016 [5 favorites]


Probably about the same chance people will stop blaming genetics, god, and some sort of cursed jewel.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:58 PM on December 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah, Wired's little anti-ad-blocker schtick has ensured that I will never be able to read any of their articles. Which I'm sure they're fine with, but it also means I'll never end up sharing any of their articles, so, yeah.

For what it is worth, the article opens fine for me, despite using an adblocker.

But I agree with the comments above -- the article/excerpt does not give any kind of explanation for a cure or resolution -- if someone is infected, what is the treatment?
posted by Dip Flash at 3:32 PM on December 31, 2016


Chance this will help people have fair, understanding, and respectful discussions about obesity? Very, very low.

Even the researchers sound tired of trying.
Atkinson says, “I remember giving a talk at a conference where I presented 15 different studies in which Ad-36 either caused or was correlated to fatness. At the end of it, a good friend said to me, ‘I just don’t believe it.’ He didn’t give a reason; he just didn’t believe it. People are really stuck on eating and exercise as the only contributors to fatness. But there is more to it.”

Dhurandhar adds, “There’s a difference between science and faith. What you believe belongs in faith and not in science."
posted by thetortoise at 3:46 PM on December 31, 2016 [11 favorites]


dersins: "You'd think Wired of all people would recognize the danger of ad-delivered malware.

Yeah, Wired's little anti-ad-blocker schtick has ensured that I will never be able to read any of their articles. Which I'm sure they're fine with, but it also means I'll never end up sharing any of their articles, so, yeah.
"

A Pi-hole instance is the only way to fly. I have a couple not-terribly exciting machines here (aka laptops that can't got anywhere any more) running Linux that I use for primarily for Word Community Grid action (well, one works as a NAS device). I got tired of the ad block shuffle so I went ahead and set up a Pi-hole instance. It is not perfect, but I have yet to run into a site that does anything or even mentions my tragic DNS issues. (Plus, as an aside, it also seems to block access to all the Win10 telemetry sites with no visible problems. Only downside I have notices is that it can slow some page loading down depending on their design, while the DNS times out). I have no connection with Pi-hole other than being a user and one of those smug Linux users to boot

Read that article with no issues at all. Makes me wonder why we haven't got a vaccine yet.
posted by Samizdata at 3:54 PM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]


Also, we can always use more people in the MetaFilter WCG group! I am a member, so, yeah, NOT an unbiased opinion there.
posted by Samizdata at 3:55 PM on December 31, 2016


There's no cure or vaccine for this condition. Yet.

What there is is a moral message: just because some sort of pathological condition is associated with a traditional sin—in the case of obesity, that'd be gluttony and/or sloth—it does not follow that it is the consequence of leading a sinful life, any more than AIDS was the result of a sinful lifestyle (rather than a pernicious and lethal viral epidemic).

This happens a lot. Stomach ulcers are mostly down to H. pylorii infection and can be cured with antibiotics; but for decades the treatments were surgery or acid suppressant meds and the cause was attributed to stress. If it turns out that the global obesity epidemic is literally an epidemic, with root causes including subclinical adenovirus infections and excessive antibiotic use in animal feed screwing with our gut bacteria, future generations will look on us with astonishment for the way we allowed hundreds of millions of premature deaths through medical negligence because of superstitious associations.
posted by cstross at 3:56 PM on December 31, 2016 [82 favorites]


NB: Wired is perfectly readable with or without an ad blocker if you simply disable javascript site-wide. Those annoying ad-blocker notes? They're all JS-mediated ...
posted by cstross at 3:57 PM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]


cstross: "There's no cure or vaccine for this condition. Yet.

What there is is a moral message: just because some sort of pathological condition is associated with a traditional sin—in the case of obesity, that'd be gluttony and/or sloth—it does not follow that it is the consequence of leading a sinful life, any more than AIDS was the result of a sinful lifestyle (rather than a pernicious and lethal viral epidemic).

This happens a lot. Stomach ulcers are mostly down to H. pylorii infection and can be cured with antibiotics; but for decades the treatments were surgery or acid suppressant meds and the cause was attributed to stress. If it turns out that the global obesity epidemic is literally an epidemic, with root causes including subclinical adenovirus infections and excessive antibiotic use in animal feed screwing with our gut bacteria, future generations will look on us with astonishment for the way we allowed hundreds of millions of premature deaths through medical negligence because of superstitious associations.
"

I had an ulcer at one point. The med they put me on (phenobarb + belladonna alkeloids) worked well, but made me fall asleep anytime I sat down for any length of time. So that was a no go, as well as treating the symptoms rather than the issue.
posted by Samizdata at 4:00 PM on December 31, 2016


I almost skipped the link because I usually can't access Wired due to ad blockers, but I was able to read this.

I googled SMAM-1 and learned that the association with obesity was established at least 20 years ago. So, why the delay in making it to the news?
posted by she's not there at 4:01 PM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]


NB: Wired is perfectly readable with or without an ad blocker if you simply disable javascript site-wide.

Well, that explains why I can now access Wired, i.e., I added an app to stop autoplay. I would happily support legal sanctions re this practice.
posted by she's not there at 4:06 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


MythMaker, hunh. Eponysterical?
posted by seawallrunner at 4:56 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


those 20 percent were heavier, had greater body mass index and lower cholesterol and lower triglycerides compared to the antibody-negative individuals, just as the chickens had
It's so freaky when you read a set of symptoms on the internet that fit you to a T even when they are relatively common. And the general symptoms described in the article (minus the antibody test) describe both my late father and myself to a T. I'm always wary of pop science reporting because it is universally shitty but it sure would be nice to take a course of anti virals to cure my obesity problem. I'd easily invest the price of modest new car on a cure/treatment. The patented revenue stream from this would be immense.

thetortoise quotes:
" “I remember giving a talk at a conference where I presented 15 different studies in which Ad-36 either caused or was correlated to fatness. At the end of it, a good friend said to me, ‘I just don’t believe it.’ He didn’t give a reason; he just didn’t believe it. People are really stuck on eating and exercise as the only contributors to fatness. But there is more to it.”"
It's like the story of the acceptance of bacterial cause of ulcers or plate tectonics and many other theories.
posted by Mitheral at 5:05 PM on December 31, 2016 [5 favorites]


1) sequence genome of virus
2) sequence genome of antibody-positive patients
3) sequence genome of antibody-negative patients
4) do some kind of analysis to discover what genes the virus has inserted into infected individuals
5) CRISPR therapy

I wonder how long this process will take to develop into an actual treatment.
posted by hippybear at 5:12 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hell we can't even get people to believe that many people have different metabolisms and process food differently because they want to do the smug "MAKE SURE CALORIES OUT IS GREATER THAN CALORIES IN, HEH, PERFECT WEIGHT ACHIEVED" thing. Something seemingly bonkers like an avian virus is going to take even longer.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:06 PM on December 31, 2016 [12 favorites]


Avian virus, you say? *eyes parrots warily* It's not enough that these assholes drive me crazy with their screaming, they have to make me fat, too?
posted by tobascodagama at 6:18 PM on December 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Hell we can't even get people to believe that many people have different metabolisms and process food differently

It's actually pretty easy to believe when you're so slender you're basically two dimensional. Then you eat a pizza. Not a slice of pizza, the whole 360. People are shocked. Is there any pepperoni left? No Adept256 ate it all. Who? Him? Looking at me as if expecting to see a circular outline in my belly.

Yes, I am the asshole that eats whatever and never gets fat. I just turn it into extra miles to run, more hoops to dunk, more fun with my wife.

Maybe someone should take my blood and figure out what is keeping me slim.
posted by adept256 at 6:32 PM on December 31, 2016 [7 favorites]


previously
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:38 PM on December 31, 2016


Interesting. I had a bad viral infection a few years ago and it completely changed my metabolism, I gained easily 25 lbs in two months, appetite much increased etc. Went from being a naturally very lean person to having to really, really watch what I eat to stay in the normal range. Everyone keeps telling me I just got older, but I didn't get older in a couple days. I know that bout of sickness changed my body in some significant way.
posted by fshgrl at 7:59 PM on December 31, 2016 [9 favorites]


Chance this will help people have fair, understanding, and respectful discussions about obesity? Very, very low. Slim.

FTFY
posted by the latin mouse at 8:12 PM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]


those 20 percent were heavier, had greater body mass index and lower cholesterol and lower triglycerides

Let me get this straight. They were fatter but healthier, yeah? Almost like fat and health aren't the same thing!!
posted by twilightlost at 8:15 PM on December 31, 2016 [8 favorites]


I wonder what evolutionary advantage the virus gains by changing its host in this way. It's very peculiar.
posted by hippybear at 8:16 PM on December 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


helico virus: symbiotic relationship allows species survival across centuries of winter.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:07 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


twilightlost: "They were fatter but healthier, yeah? Almost like fat and health aren't the same thing!"

Well true; however leaving aside quality of life issues there are other health issues with being overweight besides cardiovascular.
posted by Mitheral at 9:43 PM on December 31, 2016


They weren't healthier; they had lower markers for one specific form of unhealthiness. That's not the same thing.
posted by Justinian at 10:21 PM on December 31, 2016 [6 favorites]


I really can't understand why there's not more research on this, or a vaccine yet. Even ignoring the potential public health benefits, you'd think something you could legitimately market as an 'obesity vaccine' would fly off the shelves like crazy.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:24 AM on January 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


I found a relatively recent open-access review article about the relationship between adenovirus 36 and obesity, which mentions a proof-of-concept vaccine.
posted by parudox at 1:18 AM on January 1, 2017 [4 favorites]


hippybear: I wonder what evolutionary advantage the virus gains by changing its host in this way.

Quite likely it doesn't; this is a lingering post-viral condition rather than something that benefits the virus during the amplification/infection stage.

The virus is like an annoying house-sitter who doesn't bother to turn the lights out when they leave; you get the electricity bill later, but they're not directly benefiting from it.
posted by cstross at 3:51 AM on January 1, 2017 [10 favorites]


I wonder what evolutionary advantage the virus gains by changing its host in this way. It's very peculiar.

One of the earlier posts about this linked an article which claimed that the virus made people more active and restless as well as fatter, and if you imagine a population of small separated groups, the fat looks like provisions for the journey and the restlessness a goad, and the advantage becomes spreading throughout a population.
posted by jamjam at 10:17 AM on January 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


I wonder how long this process will take to develop into an actual treatment.

Given that your step 4 was "some kind of analysis", I'm thinking a while.
posted by maryr at 11:17 AM on January 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


I googled SMAM-1 and learned that the association with obesity was established at least 20 years ago. So, why the delay in making it to the news?

People honestly believe that insulting fat people and implying fat is only an issue of choice are the way to make fewer fat people.

The "be mean to people to change them" exists far beyond the boundaries of fatphobia; I think most of us have experienced someone being mean to us for something outside of our control. The defense is "how will they know if I don't tell them they suck" but the actual social function is about reinforcing power through scapegoating a subset of the population with the "it's for their own good" as a particularly heinous form of victim-blaming.

The health and choice responses tend to be specific to tabooed things which are viewed as issues of purity (like sexual experiences and expression). Historically, anti-sugar and anti-fat movements have been associated with religious expression and beliefs about closeness to god. In current US society, it appears to be associated with "science" and beliefs about closeness to affluence and value of human beings in the context of productivity. You see the latter leading to language like fat people being "a drain on society" which often goes along with the "they are unhealthy and undesirable" rhetoric.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:53 PM on January 1, 2017 [13 favorites]


There's a fair number of studies when you look it up. Interesting stuff. From this article: http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n9/full/0803623a.html

"Seven viruses and a scrapie agent have been implicated in obesity." Seven!

And a yeah of course conclusion:
"More work is however required to elucidate the mechanisms of weight gain after viral infection. In the mean time, discounting viruses as a contributing factor to obesity would deprive us of a potential new avenue of investigating and treating the ever increasing epidemic of obesity."
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 2:39 PM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]


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