Low vitamin D then Obesity then adenovirus-36

Many papers have shown an association between adenovirus-36 (a cold virus) and obesity in humans and mammals associated with humans

Got started with item in Natural News
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Animal obesity, the next big health crisis
Attached to this page is the original paper being refered to above

The adenovirus may be just one cause of obesity, that is, just a piece in the puzzle.

The following letter to Pediatrics Journal speculates that vitamin D may cause the obesity which then allows the virus to come into the body

Vitamin D - the link between adenovirus and obesity 22 September 2010
Samuel D. Ravenel, Pediatrician, Cornerstone Pediatrics, High Point, N.C.

To the Editors:

Gabbert et al present an interesting hypothesis regarding the association of adenovirus 36 (AD36) with obesity in children.(1) They cite animal research and postulate that the observed correlation between elevated antibody titers to AD36 and obesity suggests a causal relationship and may partially explain the etiology of obesity in children and adolescents.

A far simpler and more probable explanation for the observed association lies in the fact that obesity is known to be associated with substantially increased risk of being vitamin D deficient – and a number of studies have shown that raising vitamin D levels is protective against susceptibility to colds and influenza.

Therefore the association would be explained by the simple fact that obese subjects have lower vitamin D levels and an increased incidence of infection with influenza and cold viruses. Wortsman et al found decreased bioavailability and lower blood levels of vitamin D in obese subjects compared with matched lean controls.(2)

BMI was inversely correlated with serum vitamin D concentration in both obese and nonobese subjects. Muscogiuri et al similarly found a direct correlation between 25(OH)Vitamin D levels and both BMI and insulin sensitivity, with lower vitamin D levels being correlated with increased BMI and decreased insulin sensitivity.(3)

A review presented evidence suggesting that influenza epidemics, and possibly the common cold, are brought on by seasonal deficiencies in vitamin D through lowering of antimicrobial peptides (AMP).(4)

A randomized controlled trial found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily for a year dramatically lowered the self-reported incidence of colds and influenza.(5) In an accompanying letter responding to the latter post-hoc analysis of Aloia, vitamin D experts Cannell, Holick, and colleagues cite research by Noah that influenza A and B, parainfluenza 1 and 2, and respiratory syncytial viruses – all known to be more common in winter – may all be sensitive to AMPs that are increased by correction of vitamin D deficiency.(6)

Occam’s razor, the “law of parsimony” would dictate that this alternative explanation be preferred.
The implications of this competing interpretation include an alternative direction to pursue with regard to research to explore further the nature of the association, as well as to potential public health implications.

Documentation of the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children and adults alike is abundant – awareness is not. This is illustrated by the discussion and proposed implications of this study that fail even to consider this interpretation.

There is an abundance of recent reports describing high rates of low vitamin D levels among children and adolescents, the elderly, blacks, and the obese.(7) It is time for primary care providers and public health agencies to devote widespread attention to this “silent epidemic” and to implement vitamin D status surveillance and intervention with vitamin D supplementation. The potential health benefits of such an initiative are enormous, with implications for reducing rates of influenza and other common viral infections, as well as potentially some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and others.(8)

References

• (1)Gabbert C, Donohue M, Arnold J, and Schwimmer JB. Adenovirus 36 and obesity in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2010 (October, online 9/20/10); 126, 721-726. *(2)Wortsman J, Matsuoka LY, Lu TC, and Holick MF. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2000 (September);72:690-693.
• (3)Moscogiuri G, Sorice GP, Prioletta A, Policola C, Casa SD, and Giaccari A. 27-hydroxyvitamin d concentration correlates with insulin sensitivity and bmi in obesity. www.obesityjournal.org. 2/11/2010, 1-5.
• (4)Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC et al. Epidemic influenza and vitamin d. Epidemiol Infect 2007;134:1129-1140.
• (5)Aloia J, Li-Ng M. Re:epidemic influenza and vitamin d. Epidemiol Infect 2007;135;1095-1096.
• (6)Cannell JJ, Vieth JC, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, and Giovannucci E. The authors reply to Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect 2007;1-4 (doi: 10.1017S0950268807008308).
• (7)Holick MF. The Vitamin D Solution. Hudson Street Press. 2010:18-24, 150, 221. (8)Cannell JJ and Hollis BW. Use of vitamin d in clinical practice. Alternative Medicine Review. 2008;13:7.

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Abstract of the article which is the cause of the above letter to the editor

Adenovirus 36 and Obesity in Children and Adolescents
PEDIATRICS Vol. 126 No. 4 October 2010, pp. 721-726 (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3362)
Charles Gabbert, MDa,b, Michael Donohue, PhDc, John Arnold, MDd, Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, MDa,e
Departments of a Pediatrics,
b Medicine, and
c Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California;
d Department of Pediatrics, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, California; and
e Department of Gastroenterology, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, California

OBJECTIVE The primary aim of this study was to assess the relationship between adenovirus 36 (AD36)-specific antibodies and obesity in children.

METHODS A cross-sectional study of children 8 to 18 years of age was performed. Children were classified according to BMI percentile as nonobese (<95th percentile) or obese (?95th percentile). The presence of AD36-specific neutralizing antibodies was assessed by using the serum neutralization assay.

RESULTS A total of 124 children (median age: 13.6 years) were studied. Of those children, 46% were nonobese and 54% were obese. AD36 positivity was present in 19 children (15%). The majority of children found to be AD36-positive were obese (15 78% of 19 children). AD36 positivity was significantly (P < .05) more frequent in obese children (15 22% of 67 children) than nonobese children (4 7% of 57 children). Among the subset of children who were obese, those who were AD36-positive had significantly larger anthropometric measures, including weight, BMI, waist circumference, and waist/height ratio.

CONCLUSION These data support an association of obesity and higher body weight with the presence of neutralizing antibodies to AD36 in children. If a cause-and-effect relationship is established, it would have considerable implications for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.