Posted on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 : 11:26 a.m.
Could a common cold virus contribute to childhood obesity?
By Jen Eyer
Photo by Flickr user Paul H
New research shows that youngsters who were infected by adenovirus 36, which causes the common cold and slight gastrointestinal upset, were an average of 50 pounds heavier than children who hadn't been infected by this particular strain.
The story describes the details of the study and potential ramifications for treating obesity in children.
Comments
Rork Kuick
Wed, Sep 22, 2010 : 1:26 p.m.
The authors did not attempt to adjust for age. AD-36 positive patients were more than two years older that the AD-36 negative ones - the older kids have more chance to have had the virus so it makes sense. The older kids may weigh more (what a shock!). I am not saying there is no AD-36 effect, just that this paper is likely overstating the effect size by ignoring the age. It made me wonder if I could similarly show a weight difference for any virus you want to name, so long as I use this study design and statistical analysis. Perhaps I could demonstrate that kids having previously broken a leg or who test better in algebra also weighed more, so long as I use ages 8-18 and don't have age in my statistical model. This paper got BMI differences of about 8 kg/square meter. A previous study using twins got a difference of just 1.4 for the same measure(PMID: 15611785).
Tammy Mayrend
Wed, Sep 22, 2010 : 11:35 a.m.
Interesting.