Influence of Obesity on Immune Function
Section snippets
Subjects and Research Design
Obese and nonobese, female, white subjects were recruited from the surrounding community through advertisements according to these selection criteria (14): between the ages of 25 and 75 years; in good health with no known diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease; body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m2) between 25 and 65 for obese subjects and less than 25 for nonobese subjects (20); not currently following a reducing diet; not using medications known to affect immune function;
Results
The obese and nonobese groups were of similar age and height (Table 1). Compared with nonobese subjects, obese subjects had a 54% greater body mass, nearly twice the body fat percentage, and a 43% lower Vo2max. Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels were each significantly higher among obese subjects than nonobese subjects (but none of the subjects had a fasting glucose value indicating diabetes mellitus). Psychological general well-being was significantly lower among the obese
Discussion
Data from this study indicate that obesity is related to elevated leukocyte and lymphocyte subset counts (except for natural killer and cytotoxic/suppressor T cells), lower T- and B-cell function, higher monocyte and granulocyte phagocytosis and oxidative burst activity, and normal activity of natural killer cells.
Limited published data exist comparing immunity in obese and nonobese subjects (2), (11), (12), (13), (14). Our finding that the obese subjects (all nonsmokers) had higher total
Applications
In this cross-sectional study, obesity was associated with alterations in various measures of immune function. Granulocyte and monocyte activity was chronically elevated in obese subjects. This may be of concern because these cells can release potentially damaging substances, such as free radicals and proteolytic enzymes, which promote atherosclerosis. T-cell function was suppressed in 19% to 32% of the obese subjects (depending on the mitogen used), whereas the function of natural killer cells
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