Obesity Compromises the Immune System

Obesity has several deleterious consequences. Obesity can greatly undermine longevity as a result of the complications which accompany obesity. It has recently been shown that being overweight and obese can have another deleterious consequence. It compromises the immune system. For example, statistical evidence shows that a large number of the people affected by the swine flu infection were obese and were having a body mass index of over 40. This is indeed suggestive of poor immune response to infection. Obesity produces hormonal changes and these changes, in turn, produce inflammatory reactions which affect the functioning of the immune system.