Obesity and COVID-19
Being overweight (OW) or obese (OB) has long been associated with health issues and complications. Nothing has highlighted this more than our recent global pandemic COVID-19.
In a study of 17,000 in UK hospitals with COVID-19 those that we classed OW or OB had a 33% increased risk of dying*1. In a separate study found a double of risk from dying of COVID-19 who were obese. If other conditions i.e. diabetes or heart disease were linked this risk was thought to be even higher*2. In another study into critically ill patients in UK intensive care units found that nearly 34.5% were overweight, 31.5% obese, and 7% morbidly obese compared with 26% with a healthy BMI*3.
Currently of the UK population, 64% or 2 out of every 3 people are classed OW or OB. Early studies from China, Italy and the US have also cited obesity as an important risk factor.
Why obesity increases your risk?
It doesn’t have to be said but the more additional weight you are carrying the greater fat mass you will likely to have. This is of course unless you are an elite sportsperson, or your job requires you to have greater levels of muscle mass. Generally speaking, the more excess body fat you have there is a likely hood of you having a decreased level of fitness and lower lung capacity. This means that your ability to breath in oxygen and transport it around your body is compromised. Due to an increase in fat mass, the body has to work harder creating a higher demand for oxygen when compared with people of a healthier or lower body mass.
When the body contracts COVID-19 it becomes overwhelmed due to the lack of oxygen available to reach the major organs. This is why people who are OW or OB need assistance breathing and with kidney support when they have contracted the virus.
It is to be thought an enzyme called ACE2 is the main way the virus enters into a cell. ACE 2 is found in the lungs, arteries, heart, kidneys and the gastrointestinal tract. Higher levels of this enzyme are expressed in adipose tissue (fat tissue), more adipose tissue, more ACE2 expression and increased risk of COVID-19*5 . Men also have higher levels of the ACE2 enzyme, increase their risk further.
Those people who are obese are already at a disadvantage due to increased levels of inflammation present throughout the body. This inflammation is driven by immune cells called macrophages which invade our fat tissue. These cells interfere with how bodies respond to infection and disease. This interference can lead to cytokine storms and a life-threaten reaction from our body's immune system.
Obesity often comes with other complications such a weakened heart, lungs and kidney problems alongside a greater risk to type 2 diabetes.
Put yourself in the best position possible not only to fight COVID-19 but to protect your life against other morbidities that can affect the length and quality of your life.
PH Therapy – Add life to years & years to your life
References:
1. AB Docherty1 , EM Harrison1 , CA Green2 , H Hardwick3,4 , R Pius1 , L Norman1 , KA Holden5 , JM Read6 , F Dondelinger6 , Carson G7 , Merson L7,8 , Lee J7 , Plotkin D7 , Sigfrid L7 , Halpin S9 , C Jackson9 , C Gamble9 , PW Horby10 , JS Nguyen-Van-Tam11 , ISARIC4C Investigators†, J Dunning12,13 , PJM Openshaw14 , JK Baillie15,16 , MG Semple17,18. (2020). Features of 16,749 hospitalised UK patients with COVID-19 using the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol.
2. Elizabeth Williamson2 *, Alex J Walker1 *, Krishnan Bhaskaran2 *, Seb Bacon1 *, Chris Bates3 *, Caroline E Morton1 , Helen J Curtis1 , Amir Mehrkar1 , David Evans1 , Peter Inglesby1 , Jonathan Cockburn3 , Helen I McDonald2,5, Brian MacKenna1 , Laurie Tomlinson2 , Ian J Douglas2 , Christopher T Rentsch2 , Rohini Mathur2 , Angel Wong2 , Richard Grieve2 , David Harrison4 , Harriet Forbes2 , Anna Schultze2 , Richard Croker1 , John Parry3 , Frank Hester3 , Sam Harper3 , Raf Perera1 , Stephen Evans2 , Liam Smeeth2,5, Ben Goldacre1. (2020). Factors associated with COVID-19-related hospital death in the linked electronic health records of 17 million adult NHS patients.
3. ICNARC report on COVID-19 in critical care 08 May 2020
5. Jia X, Yin C, Lu S, et al. Two things about COVID‐19 might need attention. Preprints. 2020;2020020315.