Urban Tanzanians have a more activated immune system compared to their rural counterparts. The difference in diet appears to explain this difference: in the cities, people eat a more western style diet, while in rural areas a traditional diet is more common. A team of researchers from Radboud university medical center (Netherlands), the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Kilimanjaro Clinic Research Center in Tanzania presents in a recent study that this increased activity of the immune system could contribute to the rapid increase in non-communicable diseases in urban areas in Africa. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Immunology.