Childhood obesity is not only an epidemic, it may be an infectious disease transmitted by a common cold virus. The study was small (only 124 kids) but antibodies for a virus called AD36--a common viral strain that is linked to respiratory ailments as well as eye infections and GI disorders--were found in 15 of the participants who were also obese.
Only four kids who were of normal weight had the virus.
Not only were obese children more likely to have antibodies to the virus — 22 percent of obese children had antibodies compared with 7 percent of normal-weight kids — but the obese kids with evidence of prior AD36 infections were on average about 35 pounds fatter than obese children who hadn’t caught the virus.
Scientists have yet to determine a real link though. No studies have shown that AD36 makes you gain weight. TBC...
