Do You Have a Cold? You May be Getting Fat

I know that title may sound outrageous, but American Researchers think they have found a direct correlation between obesity and a few strains of flu:

A team led by Dr Leah Whigham, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that the human adenovirus Ad-37 causes obesity in chickens, marking the third virus to be linked to being overweight: two related viruses, Ad-36 and Ad-5, also cause obesity in animals.

Moreover, Ad-36 has been associated with human obesity, leading researchers to suspect that Ad-37 also may be implicated.

"We know Ad-36, and now Ad-37, cause obesity in animals," said Dr Whigham, whose findings are reported in the American Journal of Physiology.

The researchers have no cause-and-effect data in humans, but apparently they have suspected a link between these strains and obesity for quite a while.

So, if your ass is starting to look like the back end of a dumptruck, and your tummy looks like you just ate a GoodYear tire, it might not have to do with the fact that exercise is a foreign word to you, or that you eat like a frickin' horse, it might just be because you're sick.

Do you feel better now?