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146 Comments
- ZinZa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Yeah, the virus is named hamburger, fries and pizza....
- memoriesofgreen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11A recently discovered cure involves eating less and exercising more.
- theone3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Yeah. Right. And global warming is caused by penguin friction.
- halikar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Amazing. Not the article, the commentary. It's no wonder original thinking in science is deminishing; too many people are quick to throw science in the trash because of evidence that contradicts their world view. Even if that view is justified and correct most of the time, that doesn't mean it applies to every case, 100% of the time.
So some people have an answer that is potentially treatable, and a bunch of other people will try and use it as an excuse. Blast the right group of people, not anyone and everyone. - dkarlson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I think the virus is communicable through the television.
- dbsanfte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This can apparently account for around ~5%-15% of obesity cases.
The study of twins is usually pretty convincing, especially if they have similar lifestyles.
I know pop-culture says fatness is always your fault, but if you're eating the same as your twin with similar exertion levels and packing on the pounds, how can it be? - Trojan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You're all reacting to the headline. The study simply shows that some cases of obesity may result from a disease that causes humans to retain more fat cells.
The central reason America is so fat is the abundance of food and lack of necessary fitness activities in our daily lives. We live in a land of plenty and food delivery. - frozendice, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4actually this article is somewhat creepy. I'm a twin and have probably an extra 20lbs, we have the EXACT same lifestyle, and he eats even more fatty crap than I do. Don't dismiss everything because it's not related to you and, you feel instantly it's people's fault. What if it wasn't their fault. I exercize by riding about 3 miles a day, probably another walking, I know it's not a huge workout, but it is something. BTW, I'm in college so I'm not some old guy.
- eiczko, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Part of the problem is not that Americans are lazy. Americans have a better work ethic than most other countries. I don't see Americans ever taking a 4 hour break in the middle of the work day (happens a ton in other countries). The problem is how corporations treat their workers in America. If you work 80+ hours a week that does not leave too much time to work out. It also probably leads to depression and extra eating. Also many Americans work very low wage jobs which hardly keep up with the cost of living or the ever increasing gas prices. This forces many people to work more hours and sacrifice more of their personal time.
Europeans get a lot more vacation and an overall better work-life balance- this leads directly to better overall health. The work conditions and environment is very different from other countries. The expectations in America is that you work 80+ hours a week and somehow find the time to work out and not get depressed because all you ever do is work... - Kitsune818, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I hope this gets cached or something, so in 20 years, when we find out that only say, 50% of obesity cases are actually the fault of the persons inactivity and diet, we can look back upon all the hatred being spewed and think "There were a bunch of closed minded bas$@#ds.."
Just because you "know" something doesn't make it true. Common sense has led humanity astray more than once.. (Look up "ether" for instance). If you disbelieve scientific findings so profoundly, than shut up and prove the opposite. Thats how science works.
While you're at it, remember that a high school diploma, a degree in art history, or an IT cert does not qualify you as having intimate knowledge of epidemeology, metabolic function of a diverse population, nor does it grant you the ability to ascertain the caloric intake and activity level of a human body by sight.
You are basing your opinions upon a limited data set (namely, yourself, the worse set there is).
It is possible that a large portion of obese individuals have done it to themselves. It is also possible that a certain portion have not.
- Abx0r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You know, the ignorance here makes me want to slap people. Yeah, a lot of overweight people are lazy and eat too much, but there are people who have medical conditions they cannot help. Grow up and learn something.
- halikar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's also clear by the comments that none of the "fat people are fat because they eat too much" are actually READING the article. Quote directly from it:
"Though the infected chickens and noninfected controls consumed the same amount of food and were exposed to the same conditions, chickens carrying Ad-37 were found to have nearly three times as much fat in their guts and more than two times as much fat over their entire body at the end of the three-and-a-half week period."
Hello! If the damn birds are eatting exactly the same amount of food, yet some are getting fatter than others, there is at least one cause of obesity that isn't from over eatting!
Does this mean over eating isn't the primary cause of being fat? No! Does it mean being fat may be a tad more complex than certain minds seem to be able to comprehend? Yes, I'm sad to say.
If only all the intollerance, conclusion reaching, and fat slamming could be attributed to a virus instead of the apparent lack of reading, thinking, and compassion. Imagine all the funding we could get to treat that. - greggish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I knew that almost all the comments would be "this is a load of crap, fat people are fat because they're lazy overeating bastards." That there are also genetic and pathological causes to obesity just doesn't jibe with the popularly held beliefs by most of society that fat people are bad people. And to try to take away any of they're responsibility for their own ugliness provokes immediate anger in a society that despises them. It's a little like like the craziness of Tom Cruise and his thoughts on the non-existence of psychological illness, but on a global societal level.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3We gotta deport this virus to all them starving children in Africa and save some lives we must.
- Filoviridae, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@halikar
Agreed. Imagine the flak Dmitry Ivanovsky who first proposed viruses in the first place got. I say let them study it as a possibility...it's not like you can SEE viruses or know when one is infecting you. It could be this is just an unidentified one. I weigh a whopping 175 so not obese by any means but I know plenty of people who literally can't help being obese no matter diet, exercise, etc. - archanoid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The greatest irony of these comments is that > 90% of those commenting about fat arseholes are likely overweight themselves.
Self-loathing...the hallmark of people dealing with weight problems. - joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I love how the brilliant Digg commentators are smarter than scientific american. ;o)
- razorsharp84, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2you know, if the study were about a virus causing mental retardation, these comments would be seen as inhumane and probably removed...
- johnsto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3If its true then... who sues who? Surely someone has to pay... after all, that's the American way isn't it?
- thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2004/fatmcdskid.jpg
That's one hell of a virus. - Stopher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Crazier things have happened. Hey the "crazy" guy who said ulcers were caused by bacteria and was laughed at and shunned for years by the rest of the medical establishment just won the nobel prize in medicine.
http://nobelprize.org/medicine/laureates/2005/press.html - cokes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Boy am I happy I'm not an american. You guys go on to slam the article without even reading it. I guess the headline was a bit too inclusive, but seriously, if there is medical proof that for a small group of people, obesity is caused in part by a virus, refuting it would be close to refuting the fact that the world is round.
Oh, and for the record, there are European countries where we don't take four hours breaks in the middle of the day. Unlike those lazy mexicans... ;) - crickton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Probably the BEST digg comments ever. Keep it going! I'm glad to see that it's so hard for ppl to comprehend that something OTHER than lack of exercise or a good diet can attribute to weight gain. This article isn't saying that this is the reason why everyone is so large. Wow.. it's simply pointing out that certain strands of avian flu can cause the body to build more fat cells. I guess the fact that viruses and other bacteria doing things to your body is too extreme and controversial for the digg majority.
Digg the story, not the comments. - drphilngood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's not what goes in the mouth that makes the person, it's what comes out.
- gator99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's not that Americans are lazy gluttons, it has more to with Darwinism. When the country first started only the ones that could survive starvation on the boat-ride here and the subsequent wilderness living would survive. And survive they did, over running the indigenous people and creating a vast civilization. On the flip side, now that day to day living is no longer a struggle to survive, the same thing that helped our ancestors survive is making us fat.
- EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wake me up when they discover the virii that cause ignorance, intolerance, and stupidity.
- -neon-, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just seems like another American case of "We need to find something other than ourselves to blame!"
- Vlatro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Maybe there's something to this, mabey not. Like Smoking for example.
Smoking causes lung cancer. Many other things cause lung cancer too.
If you don't smoke you may still get it, but it's less likely.
Mabey a virus causes obesity. Eating like a pig causes it too.
Don't eat like a pig and you may still get fat, but it's less likely. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, you know. What if it IS caused by a virus. You guys taking this time to make fun of fat people are going to look like complete ***** (not that you haven't already) when they prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt that a good deal of obesity is caused by a virus.
Careful what you say, jerks. It could come back and bite you on the ass someday. - riskable, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1eiczko: Very insightful! I have a few things to add though...
In the U.S., the cheapest food is often the "fattiest" (i.e. most calories, highest saturated fat content, etc). This means that in order to save some dough, a working class family might buy $0.79 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, $0.99 Big Macs, and $1 Cokes instead of $4/box whole grain pasta with $3 organic tomato sauce, $10 home-made chicken dinners (with fresh produce), and $3 milk. Grape "drink" instead of grape juice, etc.
Also, Europeans walk and bike to work considerably more than Americans do. This is because they never had the luxury of super-wide highways and - joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1(and yea, I was being sarcastic)
- -neon-, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Things like this make me glad I'm not American....
They might not be the only fat people on the planet, but gee, they can come up with some retarded ideas.... - wmtrader, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Assume!....Now we got the Euro Jerks hating on the Mexicans, OK here is a new slogan for the Euro Trash to yell at their Football games...."Lazy Fat Mexicans".
Now if we can only get the Mexican media to do story after story on fat Mexicans and then get the Euro media to air those stories us Americans can finally get off the Euro Hater's hot seat. - vokiel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Come on.. go home
- pgm_01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Most obesity is caused by bad food and worse habits. You can't consume 5000 calories and burn 500 and expect to be thin. However, some cases may be due to a virus like some cases may be due to genetics, just not most.
- springbok, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Yeah. Right. And global warming is caused by penguin friction."
Best comment EVAR! - kramer3d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0+digg for jokes
- BubbleBobble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Here we go again...
The original article was actually published in the "American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology". The people from SA just write a story around it.
High impact journals are cited frequently and considered important. The above mentioned journal has an impact factor of 3.405, which is OK but not very impressive.
pubmed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16166204&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum - overbyte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0you'd think with all that heavy lifting of the mcbadboy burgers that they'd work all the excess lard off
apparently not - xofc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0oooh.... so, hypothetically speaking, let's say I made out with a fat chick.... and they say it's contagious? No wonder all American males seem to put on a few pounds after college.
- antoniojvr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This virus tastes sooooo gooooood
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"In the U.S., the cheapest food is often the "fattiest" (i.e. most calories, highest saturated fat content, etc). This means that in order to save some dough, a working class family might buy $0.79 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, $0.99 Big Macs, and $1 Cokes instead of $4/box whole grain pasta with $3 organic tomato sauce, $10 home-made chicken dinners (with fresh produce), and $3 milk. Grape "drink" instead of grape juice, etc."
That Kraft Mac & Cheese is basically just as healthy as the whole grain pasta is. The only real difference is the sodium levels, Kraft Mac&Cheese has a much higher salt content.
Also, that "organic" tomato sauce is quite a bit less healthy for you than the more normal brands. Ever wondered why most vegatarians look pretty sick all the time? It's not because they're not eating enough, pal.
Oh, and milk is incredibly bad for you. It's mostly fat, and even if you get skim milk, it's outside of what your body needs, in any measure. Stick to orange juice for your calcium needs.
Anyway, you're basically correct in your point, just wrong in your choice of what is and isn't healthy. And don't knock the Kraft Mac&Cheese. Other than the sodium (and to a certain extent, the cheese), it's quite healthy. - kitejumping, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1There only one explination for this article, the author is probably ginormous.
- iWorks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Being fat must be a pandemic in the US then.
Crack is an effective anti-fat drug... legalize it! - stmico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is just a mythical unicorn the big pharmecutical companies are chasing, hoping that they can at least make a few people believe this is true. Can you imagine the money to be made off a Vaccine for obesity? It would be huge, and regardless whether or not it worked lots of money could be made before the public foound out otherwise.
- sparkmonkeyz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I bet the person that wrote this was a fat 5h17
- jasqwerty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"3. Buy pants that are one waist size smaller than usual. Always wear them."
I understand the other two ,but won't that possibly cut of circulation on ginormous people? I know you said one size, but I've seen people already cramming into pants busting at the seems. - jeolmeun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You don't believe "evolution", natural selection, and mutation can create an obesity virus?
- jeromehorwitz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yeah see guys! It's not my fault I'm grotesquely fat. The fact that I eat like 4 double cheeseburgers and a extra large fry and a couple Cokes for lunch, then usually an entire chicken in heavy gravy for dinner have nothing to do with me being fat. Oh...or that pound of bacon and 1/2 dozen eggs for breakfast either.
- floejoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well I think we should subsidize the pharmaceutical companies so they can develop a cure for it.
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