Would you consider a vaccine injection to stop weight gain? This treatment draws near

You may call it a fantasy but very soon there will be a treatment that will allow people to continue to eat whatever they like and not gain weight.

The prospect of a vaccine that will stop you from getting fat will soon become a reality as scientists have found compelling evidence linking obesity to an infectious virus, news site Daily Mail reports.

The virus, Adenovirus-36 is found four times more often among the obese than in patients of a healthy weight, according to the report.

Earlier studies on animals indicate that the virus adds up 15 per cent to body weight.

In other studies, at least 30 per cent of obese people were found to be infected with the virus but just 11 per cent of those with a healthy weight had the virus.

The latest findings come as obesity and obesity-related diseases become a growing health issue worldwide.

Dr Wilmore Webley, of the University of Massachusetts, who also conducted a study on some breast cancer patients in relation to the virus, has confirmed that a vaccine for the obesity virus could be developed, saying that a vaccine for adenoviruses that cause respiratory problems is already used by the US Army.

On his part, Dr Richard Atkinson, Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin, said he has already patented a vaccine for the virus but is yet to get enough funding to make it commercially.

Academics in South Korea had tested the vaccine in animals and it had prevented the virus from infecting fat cells, he said, adding that the vaccine could be given to young people to protect them from getting the virus and stop fat cells accumulating.

Even though some people are enthused about the vaccine, others are sceptical and have demanded further studies that will prove a link between the virus and weight gain.

When the news of a vaccine against weight gain was first reported about five years ago, some health experts raised issues with the control vaccination, the safety of the dose given and the fact that the effects of the vaccine were short-lived.

So, with all the above, would you still consider a shot against weight gain?