Obesity Caused by Virus?

This sounds hopeful: maybe it's not Coca-Cola's fault afterall. Couldn't possibly be my fault!

Again, Scientists are losing the forest for the trees:

"It makes people feel more comfortable to think that obesity stems from lack of control," Whigham said. "It's a big mental leap to think you can catch obesity." However, other diseases once thought to be the product of environmental factors are now known to stem from infectious agents. For example, ulcers were once thought to be the result of stress, but researchers eventually implicated bacteria, H. pylori, as a cause.

"The nearly simultaneous increase in the prevalence of obesity in most countries of the world is difficult to explain by changes in food intake and exercise alone, and suggest that adenoviruses could have contributed," the study said. "The role of adenoviruses in the worldwide epidemic of obesity is a critical question that demands additional research."

Ulcers are too caused by stress. When we are stressed, our stomachs become alkaline allowing bugs including viri and bacterii to grow. While H. pylori, a bacteria, is associated with ulcers, the reason why the bacteria grows isn't considered. The bacterial infection may be the effect not the cause.

This doesn't mean, however, that just because my immune system is ineffective and results in a virus and/or bacterial infection, I would skip a magic pill that would get rid of the weight--'cuz I just might.