Long-term care workers 'the worst' when it comes to flu vaccine

Obesity boosts the risk of getting the flu even after a flu vaccine is administered, a study suggests.

Investigators studied 74 people who received a flu shot in the 2009-2010 season and measured their antibody response a month after receiving the vaccine. They did so again a year later.

One-third of the group was normal weight; one-third was overweight; and members of the remaining third were obese. After a year, more than half of the obese patients had a fourfold or greater decrease in antibodies, compared to 25% of patients with healthy weights.

The study appeared in the International Journal of Obesity.