Respiratory infections caused by childhood obesity

A virus which causes respiratory infections has been linked to childhood obesity, in a study that is likely to reignite a controversial debate. Previous animal research has implicated common viruses in weight gain, but the evidence has been disputed. The latest study, in Pediatrics, found that obese children with antibodies specific to a certain virus weighed 35lbs (15.8kg) more than those without. Nothing has yet been proven on this theory, say UK experts. Previous research has shown that chicken or mice injected with similar types of viruses showed a statistically significant weight gain. A link between the AD36 virus (adenovirus 36) and obesity in human adults has also been written about previously. But how AD36 infects people and why it affects people differently is still not known.