Obese children lack cells to fight diseases such as diabetes, some cancers

Obese children have far less of the “natural killer” (NK) cells that play a crucial part in helping the body fight off diseases such as type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, a new study has found.

This compromised immunity starts early in obese children, but can be reversed if the child’s weight is brought back within healthy levels, according to Andrew Hogan, one of the study’s authors.

Dr Hogan, a lecturer at Maynooth University, said he and fellow researcher, Dónal O’Shea, set out to look at what stage the immune system starts to become compromised in obese children, and were surprised to find it was as early as age six.