[Today is part one of a two part series that I have titled "Someone Else's Fault." Feel free to share your thoughts.]
Some scientists are now telling us that obesity can be “caught” as easily as a common cold. We can catch obesity” by coming in contact with other people’s coughs, sneezes, and dirty hands.
The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats.
Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said the virus, known as AD-36, infects the lungs then whisks around the body, forcing fat cells to multiply and also causing sore throats.
“When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why the fat tissue expands and why people get fat when they are infected with this virus,” Dhurandhar said.
New research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain; evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause overweight people to gain weight.
“People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection,” said Dhurandhar.
The study also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a “natural body weight” and they will always suffer hunger pangs.
So, let me get this right. If someone sneezes on me, I could catch a virus that will lead to me getting fat? Did I read that correctly? Or, I could touch a doorknob or telephone or just about anything else and I could catch this virus and get fat? Seriously?
The research also show that when we diet, we feel hunger pangs? Really? When did that start? The times that I have dieted, I didn’t notice the pangs. LOL.
Come on people! Obesity (notice, I chose to use that word and not the word used repeatedly by the “scientist”) isn’t a person’s fault because someone else gave them a virus? They were feeding the cold brought about by someone else’s bad germs. So, being overwhelm isn’t really a person’ fault—no personal ownership of the situation—it is someone else’s fault.
I found my natural body weight a few years ago. It was about 25 pounds above where I am right now. However, I would disagree with this scientist because even at that weight, I still got hungry. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe I had not reached my “ideal” natural body weight! Maybe I still had a little more room to go—not in my clothes, but in reaching the natural weight I was supposed to be at.
I have no doubt this research was conducted using our tax dollars. Maybe Mr. Obama will help eliminate this type of waste in federal spending. If not, the next thing you know is that some scientist is telling us that walking on a bed of glass causes our feet to bleed!
Pardon me. I need to go wash my hands, using strong soap to kill all germs on my hands, so that I can eat my lunch to maintain my less than ideal natural body weight.
I, for one, don't put a whole lot of credence in that "ideal body weight" thing. one tells me I ought to weigh 190. Can you say "look like a zipper?" I ride a bike and lift weights. I am around 205 right now, about 5 pounds above my ideal cycling weight. But I refuse to go below 200. I think one of the big answers is push yourself away from the table after eating good meals. That picture.....
ReplyDeleteI know Bill...I hesitated with the picture...not trying to be insulting in any way...
ReplyDeleteI just hope my photo is never used from the waist down like that. You know the shots? They take a picture of you waist down, from the backside...
So, if I am obese and I work out and lose a ton of weight, did I kill the virus by working out? That would be the logical conclusion if I hadn't gotten some virus-killing medical treatment, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, ideal body weight is a joke.
Be careful Michael...are you a scientist? Do you play one on TV? Are you qualified to offer such opinions?
ReplyDeleteThere is ideal body weight and natural body weight. The ideal body weight for me is between 120 and 150. Yea, a big spread. My natural body weight, according to this article is infinite.
ReplyDeleteHunger pains? if you don't eat, you will get hungry. Unfortunately, many people (like myself) eat when they get bored or emotional, and over time it becomes boredome=hungry or emotional = hungry. It is indistinguishable.
Virus? Maybe, but that does NOT excuse us from trying to eat healthy.
I know of two women who are overweight due to issues with different forms of cancer when they were kids. No amount of dieting, exercise, pills, supplements or whatever seems to help.
Most people, I suspect, are like me and simply lack the discipline to say, "No, I've had enough, thank you." or "I believe I'll exercise today."
Oh yea, and that picture. Methinks I will print that out as a bit of incentive to stick with my plan. . .
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about it, the more I think this is just psuedo-science used to fit into our impatient, lazy society. If I can't lose 100 in 2 weeks, it must be because I have a virus.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are some people that have trouble losing weight regardless of what they try, although I have a difficult time believing it is impossible for them to lose. I think so many people are sucked in to these quick and easy diet pills or drinks that they forget it takes work, sweat and diet.
I mean really, if it was just a virus, then we would see obese people living in poverty-stricken areas even though they can't afford to eat 5 Big Macs and 4 bowls of ice cream a day.