Common Cold Virus Linked to Childhood Obesity in New Study

Scientists are continuing to find connections between viruses and more serious diseases: a recent study suggests a link between childhood obesity and a virus that causes the common cold.…

Childhood obesity may very well be an infectious disease spread by a common cold virus. This is the finding of a recent study that was published in the journal, Pediatrics. According to the study, Adenovirus-36, as it is known in the scientific community, is directly associated with obese children. The association is found in antibodies produced by the previously-infected children. These antibodies — in association with previous animal studies that have looked at the impact of Adenovirus-36 on adult stem cells to produce more fat cells, that also happen to produce more fat — draw the link between the obesity epidemic and this particular virus.

A virus that can increase the production of certain cells offers certain insights on the dangers of viral infections — particularly when considering the spread of cancer and other chronic diseases. Numerous studies have linked viral infections to chronic-fatigue syndrome, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, skin cancer, mouth cancer, and even autism and schizophrenia. 

The associations between common viruses and the later onset of serious disease presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the scientific community. The challenge is in understanding the basic underpinnings of viruses in general – and the opportunity is in creating vaccinations that can quite effectively remove these chronic diseases from the broader ecology. 

Since obesity is seen as an epidemic on its own accord – with the World Health Organization estimating that there are more than 1 billion overweight adults worldwide — the association with a common cold virus should certainly help in the drive toward a vaccination or toward a more permanent solution 

Pediatrics, Sept. 2010