Obesity Contagious?

There is accumulating evidence that certain viruses may cause obesity, in essence making obesity contagious, according to Leah D. Whigham, the lead researcher in a new study, "Adipogenic potential of multiple human adenoviruses in vivo and in vitro in animals," in the January issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology published by the American Physiological Society.

OK, I can accept that a virus may make you hungry, but taking in more calories than you burn is what makes one obese. The article describes "adipogenic potential." Does this mean that the virus might make adipose out of nowhere? Or does it mean that there is a greater potential for imbibed calories to be deposited as adipose as opposed to used for some other reason?

No matter what infection you get, if you eat 1500 calories a day and burn 2000, you will not get fat.