IT鈥橲 NOT easy being fat in a world obsessed with being thin. Overweight
people have to put up with discrimination and disapproval. Most obese people
tell horror stories of 鈥減iggy鈥� taunts in the street and even doctors berating
them for their lack of willpower.
So the news that a relative of the common cold virus might cause obesity may
come as a relief. If the finding stands up鈥攁nd the evidence is looking
strong鈥� it could make the thinnies of this world more understanding. After
all, nobody stigmatises people who catch colds.
Unfortunately, real life is not that simple.
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First, not everyone can blame the virus for making them fat. The limited work
done so far suggests that between 20 and 30 per cent of obese people may have
been exposed to the virus
(see p 26).
On their own, these figures can鈥檛 explain
why people worldwide have got so much fatter in the past two decades.
Overindulgence and a reluctance to exercise are still the number one suspects.
Though if the virus is a true emerging disease, we鈥檇 expect it to play an
important鈥攁nd increasing鈥攔ole in obesity.
Further confusion arises because for those who catch the virus, willpower is
still part of the equation. Not everyone who is infected gets fat. The
researchers know at least one person who has had the virus and stayed thin for
years by eating sparingly.
But even if the virus were to blame for all the world鈥檚 fat, most societies
would still discriminate against obese people. Exactly why isn鈥檛 clear. One
solution offered by evolutionary psychology is that deep within us, humans have
learned to choose mates for their good health and fertility, and obesity points
in exactly the opposite direction. It is associated with early death and
infertility.
So, sadly, the obesity virus will probably not make thin people more
understanding. After all, we鈥檝e known for years that an unlucky deal of the
genetic deck can also make people fat, but this has done nothing to alter the
cruel way these people are treated.
To understand the huge problem they face, compare obesity with alcoholism,
which also involves a mix of factors鈥攕ome, such as willpower, are within a
person鈥檚 control while others, such as genes, are not. Alcoholics can choose
never to drink again, but obese people can鈥檛 do the same with food. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like
telling an alcoholic, `you must have three drinks a day, but you can鈥檛 have any
more鈥�,鈥� says Richard Atkinson, one of the discoverers of the virus.
Perhaps the virus will at least boost the morale of fat people. Until now,
it鈥檚 been easy for them to feel their fat is a consequence of something wrong
with them personally, whether 鈥渂ad鈥� genes or weak will. But if fatness is
catching, the blame shifts away from the person towards a chance encounter with
a nasty bug.
