Obesity has been found to increase the risk of death due to complications from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to a study commission for the World Bank.
Data shows that obese people have increased risks of death up to 48%, are more likely to be admitted to intensive care up to 74%, and increase risks of hospital admission by up to 113%.
“That’s a pretty big effect, for me. It is a 50% increase essentially. That’s a pretty high scary number. All of it is actually – much higher than I ever expected,” said Professor Barry Popkin from the department of nutrition at the UNC Gillings Global School of Public Health who led the study, as per reports from The Guardian.
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The comprehensive research from the Univerity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has compiled global data which show that individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 are at greater risk from the coronavirus disease – with some even pointing out that the vaccines taken by these individuals may be less effective.
One of the factors that researchers pointed out is that people with obesity have more underlying medical conditions such as heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. These and other complications may make it harder for the body to ward off infections and viruses, including the coronavirus.
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“Individuals with obesity are also more likely to experience physical ailments that make fighting this disease harder, such as sleep apnoea, which increases pulmonary hypertension, or a body mass index that increases difficulties in a hospital setting with intubation,” said the study’s co-author, Professor Melinda Beck.
