AD-36 Fat virus
Discussion
I suppose that is pretty much the case, but what if a virus alters your metabolism such that your body is predisposed to create fat?
PetrolTed said: Surely this is complete cods? Simple equation of intake - energy burned = fat?
The example they showed was of two identical twins, sharing similar lifestyle, diet and level of excercise. One was 2.5 stone heavier than the other. She tested positive for AD-36 virus antibodies, which meant she had to have been exposed to the virus. Her thin sister was negative. Usually identical twins are the same weight, down to a few pounds.
Read more at http://sun.science.wayne.edu/~ndhurand/ and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/854584.stm
Some interesting reactions from those featured when they got the results of the Ad-36 tests back...
One guy (tested positive) said "Maybe that explains why I put the weight on so quickly, but coming from a historically large family, I always expected it - stil, it's nice to know more about it".
Another woman (tested negative) seemed very disappointed not to have something to blame for her size, or the chance of a miracle cure.
One guy (tested positive) said "Maybe that explains why I put the weight on so quickly, but coming from a historically large family, I always expected it - stil, it's nice to know more about it".
Another woman (tested negative) seemed very disappointed not to have something to blame for her size, or the chance of a miracle cure.
MEMSDesign said:
The example they showed was of two identical twins, sharing similar lifestyle, diet and level of excercise. One was 2.5 stone heavier than the other. She tested positive for AD-36 virus antibodies, which meant she had to have been exposed to the virus. Her thin sister was negative. Usually identical twins are the same weight, down to a few pounds.
I'm sure they backed this up by showing that twins who are the same weight both have either no exposure or are both infected. If they didn't it's a sample size of one, which is utter bollocks.
Captain Muppet said:
MEMSDesign said:
The example they showed was of two identical twins, sharing similar lifestyle, diet and level of excercise. One was 2.5 stone heavier than the other. She tested positive for AD-36 virus antibodies, which meant she had to have been exposed to the virus. Her thin sister was negative. Usually identical twins are the same weight, down to a few pounds.
I'm sure they backed this up by showing that twins who are the same weight both have either no exposure or are both infected. If they didn't it's a sample size of one, which is utter bollocks.
OK, so it's not statistically significant, but they have done plently of tests that are, which were also shown in the program. There's a limit to how much detail you can squeeze into a documentary for consumption by joe public.
MEMSDesign said: OK, so it's not statistically significant, but they have done plently of tests that are, which were also shown in the program. There's a limit to how much detail you can squeeze into a documentary for consumption by joe public.
Good point - did they list a website with more details?
The ones above are the only ones I've found, but I've not looked very hard.
Captain Muppet said:
MEMSDesign said: OK, so it's not statistically significant, but they have done plently of tests that are, which were also shown in the program. There's a limit to how much detail you can squeeze into a documentary for consumption by joe public.
Good point - did they list a website with more details?
Try this www.obesity-news.com/omr08-00.pdf. Seems like more detail here.
>> Edited by MEMSDesign on Tuesday 7th January 12:06
This programme seriously pissed me off.
Must say that I was deeply unimpressed with the spin the programme makers put on this. They were clearly more interested in promoting this bloke as a crusader against a sceptical scientific community than examining the evidence in an unbiased way. His case is interesting but clearly not yet proven, but instead of coming out and saying that straight, the narrated text kept suggesting that it was only a matter of time before his theory would have to be accepted.
As for the UK "experiment", they said 1/6th of the fat people from the UK sample carried antibodies, but they never said how big the sample was. I think they interviewed 2 people who were positive at the end of the show. If that represents their 1/6th then they had a total sample of 24 people in total, 12 fat, 12 slim and the result is absolutely meaningless and it is profoundly intellectualy dishonest to put it forward as anything else.
Even if a statistically significant correlation could be shown between obesity and carrying AD-36 antibodies, at no stage was the causality examined in humans. Surely it is equally likely that if you are fat, you are more susceptible to viral infections and not the other way round?
Drug companies finance medical research. They have a vested interest in "discovering" new diseases and conditions to treat. (They are currently claiming that 50% of the female US population are sexually frigid becoz of a medical condition no one has noticed until now.) They behave like a mercenary bunch of charlatans at the best of times. If they thought there was a snowball's chance in Hell of there being a "fat disease" out their, they'd be pouring money into research in an attempt to produce a vaccine. The potential profit from such a discovery would be staggering. But they aren't doing this, and we ought to be able to conclude something from that.
Must say that I was deeply unimpressed with the spin the programme makers put on this. They were clearly more interested in promoting this bloke as a crusader against a sceptical scientific community than examining the evidence in an unbiased way. His case is interesting but clearly not yet proven, but instead of coming out and saying that straight, the narrated text kept suggesting that it was only a matter of time before his theory would have to be accepted.
As for the UK "experiment", they said 1/6th of the fat people from the UK sample carried antibodies, but they never said how big the sample was. I think they interviewed 2 people who were positive at the end of the show. If that represents their 1/6th then they had a total sample of 24 people in total, 12 fat, 12 slim and the result is absolutely meaningless and it is profoundly intellectualy dishonest to put it forward as anything else.
Even if a statistically significant correlation could be shown between obesity and carrying AD-36 antibodies, at no stage was the causality examined in humans. Surely it is equally likely that if you are fat, you are more susceptible to viral infections and not the other way round?
Drug companies finance medical research. They have a vested interest in "discovering" new diseases and conditions to treat. (They are currently claiming that 50% of the female US population are sexually frigid becoz of a medical condition no one has noticed until now.) They behave like a mercenary bunch of charlatans at the best of times. If they thought there was a snowball's chance in Hell of there being a "fat disease" out their, they'd be pouring money into research in an attempt to produce a vaccine. The potential profit from such a discovery would be staggering. But they aren't doing this, and we ought to be able to conclude something from that.
ATG said: This programme seriously pissed me off.
Must say that I was deeply unimpressed with the spin the programme makers put on this. They were clearly more interested in promoting this bloke as a crusader against a sceptical scientific community than examining the evidence in an unbiased way. His case is interesting but clearly not yet proven, but instead of coming out and saying that straight, the narrated text kept suggesting that it was only a matter of time before his theory would have to be accepted.
As for the UK "experiment", they said 1/6th of the fat people from the UK sample carried antibodies, but they never said how big the sample was. I think they interviewed 2 people who were positive at the end of the show. If that represents their 1/6th then they had a total sample of 24 people in total, 12 fat, 12 slim and the result is absolutely meaningless and it is profoundly intellectualy dishonest to put it forward as anything else.
Even if a statistically significant correlation could be shown between obesity and carrying AD-36 antibodies, at no stage was the causality examined in humans. Surely it is equally likely that if you are fat, you are more susceptible to viral infections and not the other way round?
Drug companies finance medical research. They have a vested interest in "discovering" new diseases and conditions to treat. (They are currently claiming that 50% of the female US population are sexually frigid becoz of a medical condition no one has noticed until now.) They behave like a mercenary bunch of charlatans at the best of times. If they thought there was a snowball's chance in Hell of there being a "fat disease" out their, they'd be pouring money into research in an attempt to produce a vaccine. The potential profit from such a discovery would be staggering. But they aren't doing this, and we ought to be able to conclude something from that.
I agree, the program certainly wasn't perfect, but it can't be all things to all men. They have to aim for a very wide audience. If you want to dismiss the idea, don't do so on the strength of a documentary on TV. Find the scientific papers, and read them. Try the link above for more information, with discussion of a few of the points you have raised.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the establishment always know best. It might be true most of the time, but a lot of ideas have been dismissed at first sight and have later proven revolutionary (Dyson vacuums spring to mind as an obvious example).
Complete toss. The only thing that was reflected accurately in this prog was the fact that all fat people seem to be looking for an excuse as to why it's not their fault. "It's hereditary, I've got AD-36 antibodies, gym membership is too expensive...."
All utter crap. As has been pointed out, no fat people did come out of Belsen, and if you burn off more than you eat your body HAS to take fuel from elsewhere. Running is free and brutally effective in this area. The only problem for the lazy bloater brigade, of course, is that it requires them to make a bit of effort and show a bit of will power.
Who else laughed their arse off at that woman complaining about the embarassment of hubby having to get his tools out to remove the passenger seat in the car to get her out? Fab!
As Butt-Head once said, "Beavis, fat people piss me off."
Its complete B*llocks.
Isnt the same channel starting a whole series of programmes about obese people???
Hmmm. I think they're going for the fat vote now
Would all people with the AD-36 virus please eat less and do some exercise.
You see??? The fat magically dissappears. Don't ask me how it works. It must be some sort of magic...
Isnt the same channel starting a whole series of programmes about obese people???
Hmmm. I think they're going for the fat vote now
Would all people with the AD-36 virus please eat less and do some exercise.
You see??? The fat magically dissappears. Don't ask me how it works. It must be some sort of magic...
Sorry, but having watched the program there was definite evidence that needed investigating. It seems quite possible that some people who have been exposed to this virus have gained weight in that their immature fat cells have matured far more quickly than they are supposed to. However this is not conclusive proof.
In the UK the results were that only 1 in 6 of those 'obese' people who volunteered to be tested had ever had the virus.
As such it seems that the majority opinion i.e. lack of proper diet excercise + (often) other medical complications = obesity.
As a virus, finding a cure for AD36 seems to be unlikely. It might be possible to immunise people in future given a quite a few more years of study. I'm not opposed to the idea that having had a certain virus you might be more disposed to gain / keep weight on. Seems perfectly reasonable, the research appears to have been carried out completely properly and seems to have been repeatable so has to be looked at as at least credible.
What this is not is a reason for why so many people are so fat.
What it could be is a very useful discovery of a different type of virus which may help the minority who have been affected by it.
In the UK the results were that only 1 in 6 of those 'obese' people who volunteered to be tested had ever had the virus.
As such it seems that the majority opinion i.e. lack of proper diet excercise + (often) other medical complications = obesity.
As a virus, finding a cure for AD36 seems to be unlikely. It might be possible to immunise people in future given a quite a few more years of study. I'm not opposed to the idea that having had a certain virus you might be more disposed to gain / keep weight on. Seems perfectly reasonable, the research appears to have been carried out completely properly and seems to have been repeatable so has to be looked at as at least credible.
What this is not is a reason for why so many people are so fat.
What it could be is a very useful discovery of a different type of virus which may help the minority who have been affected by it.
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