Obesity as an Infectious Disease
Could bacteria or other infectious agents be a major factor in the development of obesity? The idea is not as crazy as it sounds.
The impact of the obesity epidemic is widespread, and all too familiar. The cause of the epidemic, on the other hand, is somewhat surprisingly less clear.
Obesity is on the rise in America and around the world. By 2017, obesity rates in the United States topped 35% with no signs of slowing down. Not only is obesity linked to countless diseases such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, it’s also expensive. Obesity is estimated to cost over $175 billion a year in healthcare in the United States.
While many are quick to assume to know where to place the blame, the data paints a more confusing picture. Though increased calorie consumption seems like an obvious explanation, the opposite has been observed: during the period when obesity rates have skyrocketed, total calorie intake has actually decreased slightly. Other explanations, such as proportion of sugar intake, have led to similarly paradoxical observations: obesity continues to rise even while sugar intake has decreased.
Many of the other suspected explanations for the obesity crisis — like exercise, caloric intake and…
