Research
Mixed
Six months of calorie restriction (10-30%) significantly enhances T-cell-mediated immune function in overweight adults, evidenced by increased delayed-type hypersensitivity and lymphocyte proliferation.
If you are overweight, restricting your calories by 10-30% for six months can boost your immune system's ability to fight off threats. This is achieved by improving T-cell function and reducing inflammatory markers like PGE2. This benefit is most pronounced with a 30% restriction.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These results, for the first time, show that 6-month CR in humans improves T-cell function.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial in humans, though with a relatively small sample size (N=46) and short duration.
Source
Calorie Restriction Enhances T-Cell-Mediated Immune Response in Adult Overweight Men and Women
Tanvir Ahmed et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2009
DOI 10.1093/gerona/glp101
rct · n=46Cited 73×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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