Your diet may influence how effective vaccines are for you

Obese mice that lost weight on a low-fat diet before getting a flu shot had better immune responses than those that lost weight afterwards, suggesting diet and weight loss influence vaccine efficacy

By Grace Wade

After mice ate a low-fat diet, their flu vaccinations were more effective

iStockphoto/Getty

Switching obese mice to a lower-fat diet before flu vaccination, but not afterwards, improves their ability to fight the virus. This suggests the flu shot may be more effective in people with obesity if they lose weight or eat a different diet beforehand.

Even with immunisation, people with obesity are nearly twice as likely to get the flu than those without it. They are also…