Obese male mice produce more disease-promoting immune cells than females
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - 09:00
in Health & Medicine
Obesity may be tougher on male immune systems than females, a new study in mice suggests. With the risk for obesity-associated diseases significantly higher for men than women, researchers compared how mice from each sex reacted to high-fat diets. They found that the difference may lie in the tendency of males to produce higher levels of white blood cells that encourage inflammation, which contributes to the negative health consequences of obesity such as insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.