Viral Induced Obesity

The Washington Post reports on recent intriguing work linking obesity to viral infection. Scientists isolated adult stem cells from fat that had been extracted during liposuction. Such stem cells can potentially turn into many different cells. Culturing these stem cells with the common adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), which causes respiratory and eye infections, caused new fat cells to form which were also more active than normal fat cells at promoting fat storage. Stem cells not exposed to the virus did not form into fat cells.

Research relating to viral-induced obesity has been going on for a number of years and it is safe to say it is a likely problem for some people. We now understand that fat is a metabolic organ and a viral infection of that organ cannot be a good thing. Earlier work shows that these viral infections damage fat cell metabolism.

In another recent study it was found that leptin activity in fat cells was blunted, disrupting the fundamental metabolism of the fat cell. This problem caused significantly more glucose to be taken up and stored as fat. Furthermore, this adverse effect is likely to be worse in a person deficient in essential fatty acids.

The viral angle on obesity is likely to be a small percentage of individuals relative to other factors, especially in individuals who truly struggle to loose weight. Toxins like PCBs, which also accumulate in fat and damage it, are likely to be a much larger problem. And the most basic problem is not eating in harmony with leptin, as explained in the Leptin Diet.