Kids exposed to virus more likely to be obese, study shows

LOS ANGELES - New evidence indicates that children who are exposed to a virus called adenovirus-36 are more likely to be obese than those who are not, and to be heavier than other obese kids who were not exposed to it, researchers said this week.

The virus, known informally as Ad-36, is one of about 55 adenoviruses known to cause colds and the only member of the family linked to obesity. But it is one of 10 bacteria and viruses that have been associated with a propensity for putting on poundage.

Previous studies have shown that about 30 percent of obese adults have antibodies to Ad-36, compared with only 11 percent of those who are not obese. A study in South Korea found antibodies to the virus in 30 percent of children attending an obesity clinic, but not did examine healthy children.

In a study published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer of the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues studied 124 children, ages 8 to 18. Sixty-seven of them were in the 95th percentile or higher for body mass index and the rest were not obese. Antibodies to Ad-36 were found in 15 of the obese and four of the non-obese. Children with antibodies, on average, weighed 50 pounds more than those without. Within the obese group, those with the antibodies weighed an average of 35 pounds more than those without them.

- Los Angeles Times