Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, 03 1994, 202-205, Vol 1, No. 2
Copyright © 1994 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Decline in delayed-type hypersensitivity response in obese women following weight reduction

DD Stallone, AJ Stunkard, B Zweiman, TA Wadden and GD Foster
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104, USA.

The effect of weight loss on immuno function was evaluated in 14 middle- aged obese women. Cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity to five recall antigens was measured before a weight loss of 21 kg and again after weight had been stabilized. Weight loss was associated with a decrease in both number and magnitude of delayed-type hypersensitivity responses. The number of positive skin tests decreased from 3.1 +/- 0.2 to 2.4 +/- 0.3 per subject, and the mean cutaneous induration size decreased by 38%. The decrease in induration size was positively correlated with the decrease in body mass index (r = 0.63), weight (r = 0.59), and fat mass (r = 0.52). These preliminary findings suggest that large weight losses may result in decreased expression of immune function.

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