Obesity damages immune system

March 27, 2006

Recent findings suggest that obesity reduces laboratory mice's ability to turn on elements of their immune systems needed for controlling influenza infection. The findings raise the possibility that obesity in humans has a similar effect as well. Studies have shown that obese mice were 10 times more likely to die when infected with the flu virus. Four percent of lean mice died during the experiments, compared with 40 percent of the extra fat ones.

Numerous marked alterations seen in the mice's immune response suggest that the growing obese population is at increased risk for immune dysfunction during influenza infection, which may lead in humans, as it did in the mice, to increased mortality. Obesity on humans can be life threatening and it can be treated with the help of diet pills such as phentermine.

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