

Western surge in obesity may have been caused by a virus - vl
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/western-surge-in-obesity-may-have-been-caused-by-a-virus-2084737.html

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VBprogrammer
I'm disinclined to believe this study purely on the basis that I've yet to
meet an heavily overweight person who did not have a terrible diet to exercise
ratio.

I wonder how good the science behind it is!

~~~
brudgers
_I wonder how good the science behind it is!_

Better than anecdote according to the article.

~~~
crpatino
Correlation != Causation

The article revolves around how much more likely it is for obese children to
be infected by the virus, how much more likely it is for children infected to
be obese, and how much heavier are the infected children than the rest (even
than obese but not infected children).

This is hardly surprising for a virus that specifically targets fat cells!

~~~
brudgers
I agree that correlation does not _necessarily_ imply causation.

However seeing as correlation _always_ accompanies causation, it's not the
worst place to start an investigation.

And viruses have been known to cause epidemics.

