Influenza Study: Obese Adults Remain Sick Longer
New research suggests that obesity may be a factor in the spread of the influenza virus.
A study in Nicaragua has found that obese adults had the influenza virus for longer periods of time than those of a healthy weight. The finding could have major implications, given that obesity has nearly tripled worldwide since 1975, according to the World Health Organization.
Aubree Gordon of the University of Michigan worked with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health on a research program that studied 1,783 individuals in 320 households.
Researchers visited homes where at least one member reported symptoms of influenza. They collected samples every few days for two years, tracking infected individuals and others in the home who agreed to take part in the study.
When Gordon's team studied the samples, they found that obese adults carried the influenza virus 42 percent longer than non-obese adults. This is a period of about a day and a half longer than non-obese adults.
According to Gordon, these findings show the importance of vaccinations, particularly for people who are obese.
Gordon and her team's study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, highlighted that obesity isn't going away anytime soon. "Obesity is a growing epidemic, unfortunately, and becoming a huge problem worldwide," Gordon said.
Will Green, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina, noted that if obese people either remain sick or infectious longer, that also might lead to the greater loss of work time and higher health care costs.
