The Intriguing Relationship Between Obesity and Infection

Abstract

The number of overweight people worldwide is steadily growing. Obesity has become a serious health problem even in developing countries where infectious diseases are still highly prevalent. However, the interactions between these two conditions are still unclear. It is known that, during obesity, lipid deposits induce metabolic alterations associated with increased pro-inflammatory status, which disrupts the body hemostasis and could impair the immune responses against microorganisms. Moreover, studies in humans and animal models with infectious diseases have demonstrated that obesity usually correlates with increased susceptibility to bacterial, viral and protozoa parasite infections. In this mini-review, we will discuss some few studies that characterized the interactions between obesity and infections to clarify why obesity-associated inflammation results in impaired protective immunity.