Obesity & Rheumatic Disease

“Obesity is an inflammatory state, so it is in the landscape of the rheumatologist,” says Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH. And the more attention rheumatologists pay to obesity, the better…
the-rheumatologist.org|By Richard Quinn

Dietary Intake Triggers Inflammation

Although much has been made of the potential for the microbiome to shape immune responses and play a role in chronic inflammation, the manipulation of diet or…
rheumnow.com

Calorie Restriction Modifies Risk Factors for Age-Related Diseases
Sustained calorie restriction in humans has been shown to modify risk factors for age-related diseases and influence indicators associated…
worldhealth.net
In the 2-year Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) study, the aim was to study the effect of a 15% weight loss on various health measures. This was expected to be achievable through a 25% drop in caloric intake.
Although the spirit was willing, the weak flesh could barely attained half of the calorie restriction on average. Despite this, significant cardiovascular risks were favourably modulated: blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin resistance.

Most interestingly, the inflammation marker, C-Reactive Protein(CRP), almost halved! This comes closest to drawing the link between calorie intake and inflammation, and indirectly between obesity and inflammatory diseases.
This raises some interesting questions:
1) Is the link with inflammation with total calorie intake, or is there a specific food group (carbohydrates, fats or proteins) that is particularly pro-inflammatory? If so, why? My bet is with carbs, especially fructose;
2) Would weight loss through non-dietary means (exercise, bariatric surgery) result in similar benefits?

Short Stretches of Exercise May Have Anti-Inflammatory Effect

20 minutes on a treadmill linked to drop in immune cells tied to inflammation, study finds
consumer.healthday.com