Objective: To investigate whether or not adenovirus causes obesity.

Obesity has been a prime disease affecting many patrons across the globe. The extent of the damages to the human body is tremendous. It makes our body more prone to other life threatening illnesses. Around the 1980's when adenovirus-36 (AD36) was introduced scientists realized there was an increase in obesity in humans. Doctors and other persons involved in the medical field embarked on the journey to find some answers between adenoviruses and obesity. Various strains of adenoviruses were used on non human animal models and also humans were tested for the antibodies. What was found out was AD36 played a much more significant role in weight gain than other strains.

Studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between persons who were infected by adenovirus-36 and their weight. Parties involved in the study were children and adolescents of ages 8-18. It has been investigated that children possessing antibodies of AD36 accumulated a higher incidence of increased body weight. The serum neutralization assay was used to find out the prevalence of AD36 antibodies in each candidate. Out of  a total of 124 children, 19 were AD36 positive. Most of children tested positive were obese, they had greater body mass index {BMI), larger waist circumference among other measurements. (American Academy of Pediatrics, Sept. 2006)

Experiments were further carried out on mice and chickens to give researchers an insight to the relationship between AD36 and other animal models. Adenovirus-36 was injected into unaffected mice and chickens to find out the effects the virus had on fat cells.  The experiment took place under controlled rooms and weekly food and body weights were measured. Body fat was determined by chemical extractions of carcass fat. The results showed that the animals developed a condition of amplified adipose tissue. (Falagas ME, Kompti... 2006)

Stemming from the studies it can be concluded that there is an indirect correlation between adenovirus-36 and obesity. Due to ethical affiliations between humans and experimental methods of this type of study, it is not directly proven that adenovirus is causatively responsible for obesity in humans.

Why isn’t it proven?

Research results have only been obtained from individuals who were positive for adenovirus-36 antibodies. It is unethical for researchers to actively infect humans with an infectious disease to conduct experiments.