Weight loss boosts immune system, research finds

Weight loss not only helps people look and feel great, but can also provide a significant boost to the immune system, a new study has revealed.

Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia found that losing just six kilograms of excess weight can help to reverse the damaging changes seen in the immune cells of people with obesity.

Losing weight can bring the pro-inflammatory nature of circulating immune cells, which are involved in promoting coronary artery disease and other illnesses, back to normal levels, the study found.

“This is the first time it has been shown that modest weight reduction reverses some of the very adverse inflammatory changes we see in obese people with diabetes,” commented the institute’s associate professor Katherine Samaras.

In February, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research challenged the findings of a 1994 study which concluded that Asian people have a higher percentage of body fat than Caucasians.

Would health benefits encourage you to shed weight?