Covid-19 hits the obese especially hard
Obesity is emerging as a key indicator for which Covid-19 patients will fall severely ill with the disease—a worrying finding for the U.S., where more than 40 percent of adults are obese. The evidence comes from two new studies that analyzed thousands of coronavirus patients who arrived at emergency rooms in New York City. One study found that obese patients who were younger than 60 were at least two times more likely to be hospitalized than their nonobese peers and up to 3.6 times more likely to end up in the ICU. For the second study, which hasn’t yet been peer reviewed, researchers analyzed data from more than 4,000 Covid-19 patients and weighted the risk factors that result in hospitalization. Being 75 and older was the main predictor, followed by being between ages 65 and 74. The third-best indicator was having a body mass index over 40, which doctors call “severe obesity.” Even a history of heart failure was less likely to result in a patient being hospitalized. William Dietz, an obesity researcher at George Washington University, tells the Los Angeles Times that even before obese people contract Covid-19, they have reduced lung capacity, because they carry more fat around their midsections. Extra weight means breathing requires more effort—which becomes especially problematic when an infection further hampers the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen for transport to the bloodstream.