Inside every fat person...
August 15, 2006 5:03 AM Subscribe
Largeness Is A Virus? Pop quiz: what causes stomach ulcers? If you said "stress", you're wrong. Nobel-prize-winning science has proven that a virus is to blame. And now Nikhil Dhurandhar is on the way to proving that obesity too may be caused by an infection -- even transmitted from on person to another. The NYT Magazine reports on the theory that your body is infected with a virus that wants you to put on weight. Or to put it another way, it's not just your lazy-greedy genes -- you and your metagenome suffer from Infectobesity.
This post was deleted for the following reason: infectodouble
I don't want to be picky but Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria, not a virus.
posted by tnai at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by tnai at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
Umm ... not to nitpick (who am I kidding, of course it is to nitpick), the last time I checked, Heliocobacter pylori is a bacteria.
posted by scblackman at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by scblackman at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
Ha ... tandem snark.
posted by scblackman at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by scblackman at 5:17 AM on August 15, 2006
Hey, this is cool. I'm a lardass, but suddenly it's not my fault anymore! :)
posted by Malor at 5:18 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by Malor at 5:18 AM on August 15, 2006
The New York Times article says, in no uncertain terms, that the contribution of a virus (or microflora in the gut) to obesity is small, if that. Okay, gotcha there.
But I'd go so far as to say "minimal." Or almost nonexistent. Or even not worth thinking about.
If virii or gut microbes are causal factors in obesity, how do you explain that:
1. Almost nobody was obese until the epidemic that started a few decades ago. Did infectobesity fall out of the sky in 1979?
2. Obesity is common in supersizing Western countries, less common elsewhere, and hardly seen at all in impoverished developing countries.
3. The obesity epidemic coincides with a massive increase in calories, both from restaurant and fast food portions and dishes at home.
(Scratches head in dismay)
posted by Gordion Knott at 5:21 AM on August 15, 2006
But I'd go so far as to say "minimal." Or almost nonexistent. Or even not worth thinking about.
If virii or gut microbes are causal factors in obesity, how do you explain that:
1. Almost nobody was obese until the epidemic that started a few decades ago. Did infectobesity fall out of the sky in 1979?
2. Obesity is common in supersizing Western countries, less common elsewhere, and hardly seen at all in impoverished developing countries.
3. The obesity epidemic coincides with a massive increase in calories, both from restaurant and fast food portions and dishes at home.
(Scratches head in dismay)
posted by Gordion Knott at 5:21 AM on August 15, 2006
I suffer from Vermentis Gigolaze, a common but up till now misunderstood infection. See, I am lazy, I have no work ethic and I seek instant gratification. I always blamed society but now I know that is is a virus passed on to me by my classmates back in high-school. Luckily my doctor is presribing me some medication, so although I am still lazy, I feel a little better.
posted by Vindaloo at 5:33 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by Vindaloo at 5:33 AM on August 15, 2006
As an overweight indivegetable, this certainly sounds, at least initially, like bunk.
But, hey, I'm a good American. I'm always looking for something else to blame. :-)
posted by grubi at 5:52 AM on August 15, 2006
But, hey, I'm a good American. I'm always looking for something else to blame. :-)
posted by grubi at 5:52 AM on August 15, 2006
> you and your metagenome suffer from Infectobesity.
Why are we sitting on our hands? Send some of this stuff to Africa quick!
posted by jfuller at 5:53 AM on August 15, 2006
Why are we sitting on our hands? Send some of this stuff to Africa quick!
posted by jfuller at 5:53 AM on August 15, 2006
If I really wanted to be picky to the point of near-autistic pedantry I'd say it's a bacterium.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 5:54 AM on August 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 5:54 AM on August 15, 2006 [1 favorite]
On a completely unrelated topic, has Wikipedia gone crazy? I am unable to see it in English--it isn't an option. I can, however, see several other versions, including French, Swedish and Italian. Help!
posted by etaoin at 5:54 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by etaoin at 5:54 AM on August 15, 2006
I believe this completely, because I drink sodas all day long, eat huge meals (not just home cooking loaded with butter/cream, etc, but double 1/4 pounders, supersized, large quiznos subs, etc) and I'm 6'3" - 175 pounds. The only thing I don't do is snack or eat candy... I've never done a calorie count, but I'm positive it's more than a lot of my friends that have struggled with weight problems.
posted by empath at 5:55 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by empath at 5:55 AM on August 15, 2006
Have any of you ever read the Young Adult novel "Peeps?" It provides an interesting take on just how subtlely and powerfully viruses and parasites can affect you. That being said, I'm fat because I eat what I want and don't exercise. Who knows though, maybe viruses don't like living in a person that exercises...
posted by BeReasonable at 5:57 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by BeReasonable at 5:57 AM on August 15, 2006
I'm a lardass, but suddenly it's not my fault anymore!
But surely this means you're fat because you're dirty? UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!
posted by biffa at 6:02 AM on August 15, 2006
But surely this means you're fat because you're dirty? UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!
posted by biffa at 6:02 AM on August 15, 2006
I blame corn.
posted by bob sarabia at 6:23 AM on August 15, 2006
posted by bob sarabia at 6:23 AM on August 15, 2006
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