Obesity may be infectious

Some cases of human obesity maywell be caused by a virus, say NikhilDhurandhar and Richard Atkinsonof the University of Wisconsin,Madison. The researchers analysedthe blood of 199 volunteers for anti-bodies for the adenovirus Ad-36,that causes obesity in animalmodels. Volunteers included 45 leanpeople while the remaining 154were obese. While all the lean peoplewere seronegative, (did not haveantibodies to Ad-36), 23 of the Obese people were found to be seropositive and responded significantlybetter to treatment with obesitydrugs than those who were seronegative (The Lancet, Vol 349, No 9049).