Bad diet can lead to weight gain

Sydney: A bad diet has consequences on
the immune system which can lead to weight gain and other signs of obesity, a
recent study has revealed.

According to the study, published in
the Journal of Immunology, the researchers studied the impact of a
western-style high fat diet on the immune system and came out with two
surprising results.

“Our research looked at whether
bad diets have consequences before we notice an increase in body weight. We
found that over-consumption of saturated fats is a form of malnutrition: one
that needs to be taken seriously,” Abigail Pollock, a researcher at the
University of New South Wales, said.

The researchers examined the impact of
dietary lipids on a class of immune cells -- T lymphocytes or T cells in which
a diet rich saturated fats can impact immune function.

“We fed mice a western-style high
fat diet for nine weeks to observe if this diet would impact the T cell response
before the animal gains weight. Despite our hypothesis that the T cell response
would be weakened we actually saw the opposite: the percentage of T cells
multiplying increased,” added Pollock.

One clinical ramification of
overactive T cells may be autoimmune disease where the immune system begins
attacking healthy parts of the body, suggested the study.

According to the study, the other
unexpected finding was that T cell responses were altered even in the absence
of obesity and obesity induced inflammation.

Dietary lipids do in fact directly
influence T cell activation and responsiveness by altering the composition and
the structure of the T cell membrane, suggested the study.

“T cells are actually affected
prior to the mice becoming overweight. Lipids in the diet change the abundance
of lipids in the cell membrane, which in turn changes the structure of the cell
altering the responsiveness of the T cells and changing the immune
response,” added Pollock.

IANS