IL1B and infection: While this, on the surface, might appear to contradict earlier studies showing that obesity increases the risk of infections and the outcome of infections once they are established [2], the more than 10-fold higher levels of IL-1RA than IL-1β observed in the plasma of the BMI>35 group, both endogenously and in response to microbial challenge, might counteract the ability of pro-inflammatory cytokines within the local infected milieu to destroy invaders.