The Startling Link Between Being Overweight And Covid-19

A local specialist physician warns that we are facing a pandemic on top of an obesity epidemic.

Many of us are aware of the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, washing our hands and even self-isolating where necessary to protect against COVID-19 2. But for those who do become infected, startling research has revealed that being obese or even slightly overweight can worsen the effect of this disease 3.

Moreover, COVID-19 poses a specific risk to people living with pre-existing conditions such as atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension – conditions also common in people with obesity 4. While initial data pointed towards the older population being particularly vulnerable (as well as those with these comorbidities), an increasing number of reports have now also linked obesity to more severe COVID-19 illness and death 5.

The statistics

What has been termed “the elephant in the room” when it comes to this pandemic is the fact that overweight populations and obesity are already major global healthcare problems. In fact, data from the first 2 204 patients admitted to 286 national Health Service Intensive Care Units with COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, reveal that 72.7% of them were overweight or obese 1 . research has found that patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome might have to up 10 times greater risk of death when they contract COVID-19 1. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels 5.

Given the extremely high rates of overweight and obese people around the globe, a high percentage of the population who will contract coronavirus are expected to also have a BMI over 25 3.

Lockdown = weight up