Contents:
- Medical Video: Is the Flu Vaccine Less Effective If You Are Obese?
- How effective are vaccines for the body?
- The vaccine is not effective if you are overweight
- Then, how do I know if I'm obese or not?
Medical Video: Is the Flu Vaccine Less Effective If You Are Obese?
Vaccines or immunizations are needed to fight and prevent various types of infectious diseases. But apparently, vaccines are not necessarily effective in protecting everyone. According to a number of studies, vaccine work in the body can decrease if your body weight is excessive or even obese. Why can excessive weight make the vaccine ineffective?
How effective are vaccines for the body?
The duration of the effectiveness of vaccines to protect the body is influenced by a variety of factors, such as:
- Are you on time for immunization.
- Type of vaccine. Not all vaccines are as effective. Some are more effective than others, depending on the vaccine for what disease. Some vaccines must be repeated.
- Some vaccine products for one type of disease do not necessarily have the same effectiveness.
The vaccine is not effective if you are overweight
Weight gain caused by a bad diet can interfere with your metabolism and immune system to fight foreign substances that enter the body. Excessive body weight results in a surge in blood sugar, while causing oxidative damage. Oxidative damage is a process in the cells of the body that destroys cell structures such as protein, fat, and DNA. Oxidative stress increases your risk of infection.
Because the excess body weight causes the body to not produce enough antibodies that function to neutralize toxins produced by bacteria. Weight gain also makes the body produce high amounts of leptin. Excessive levels of leptin hormone can inhibit the work of the body's immune system.
Well, these various factors make obese people more vulnerable to illness. Plus, immune cells called T cells don't work well in obese people. Weak immune system makes the vaccine drug ineffective. Some vaccines whose effectiveness can be greatly reduced due to the weakening of the immune system are hepatitis B vaccine, flu vaccine, tetanus vaccine, and rabies vaccine.
Moreover, obesity can also be caused by genetic factors. Sometimes, some people may not respond at all to certain types of vaccinations. This is generally caused by different genetic factors in each person.
Then, how do I know if I'm obese or not?
To find out whether your weight including a healthy weight can be done through the method of calculating BMI (body mass index). The formula used in calculating BMI is body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (m²).
For example if a person's weight is 66 kilograms and the height is 1.65 meters, then the calculation is 66 / (1.65 X 1.65) = 24.2. These results fall into the category of healthy or normal weight because they still range from 18.5 to 24.9.
If the end result of calculating your BMI is less than 18.5 then you are considered to be underweight. Conversely, if the result is more than 24.9 then you are considered overweight. Someone is declared obese if they have a BMI calculation result between 30-39.9. Furthermore, someone is considered to experience extreme obesity if the final BMI is above 40.
To make it easier for you to calculate what your body mass index is and whether your weight is classified as ideal, less, or excessive, Hello Sehat has provided it BMI Calculator which you can use easily.
