Obese people are at high risk of severe COVID-19. It poses serious medical and social challenges

The United States and many other developed nations face an intertwined public health crisis—the coronavirus pandemic and obesity.

About 40% of adults in the United States are obese, and recent studies have shown that COVID-19 is a serious and fatal risk factor, even in young adults.

Obesity can cause abnormalities in metabolism, immunity, blood coagulation, and worsen COVID-19 outcomes. But that means that most of the population, including prime-year people, are in particularly bad shackles. Doctors advise you to be as careful as possible, preferably at home, to keep social “bubbles” small. However, being safe can interfere with weight loss activities such as walking and going to the gym, increasing isolation, depression, frustration, and overeating.

“With COVID-19, it’s clear they are a vulnerable group,” says Rohit Soans, director of bariatric surgery at Temple University Hospital. “But it’s hard to say to someone aged 30 or 40,” you need to be treated like an 80-year-old grandma.” “

Also, being too heavy is merely a moral failure, and it is difficult to put together a message in a way that does not reinforce the cultural prejudice that assumes it is not a chronic illness. Obese people often internalize these negative stereotypes.

Colleen Tewkesbury, a senior researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and a dietitian at the Obesity Program Manager, said internalized weight bias is “a fairly significant barrier for people being treated.”

Not surprisingly, the elderly are particularly vulnerable to severe COVID-19. The disease can cause havoc in virtually all organ systems. Many people over the age of 65 already have lungs, hearts, Blood vessel, And kidneys.

However, obesity, which is defined as obesity (body foot index of 30 or higher (174 pounds for women 5 feet and 4 inches)), is a risk factor for older people. A French study of COVID-19 patients in intensive care found that patients with a BMI of 35 years and older had mechanical ventilation seven times more likely than patients with a BMI in the healthy range. A study of COVID-19 patients under the age of 60 admitted in New York City found that a BMI of >35 years almost quadrupled the need for critical care.

The exact reason is not clear, but the virus appears to be exploiting many weight-related abnormalities, as explained in a review of eight studies published in this month’s journal. Endocrinology, diabetes, metabolism..

First, excess weight puts pressure on the chest and abdomen, limiting breathing. Second, obese people often develop Chronic illnessDiabetes and high blood pressure, which increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Third, obesity promotes the formation of blood clots that can occlude blood vessels, Coronavirus..

According to Tewkesbury, the problem of blood clotting is “associated with obesity.”

Two other explanations for why obesity exacerbates COVID-19 include the unique features of each disease.

Adipose tissue works almost like another organ. It can disrupt metabolism by desensitizing insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, and causing constant inflammation. Usually inflammation Immune systemTemporary healing response to injuries in the. However, severe COVID-19 can cause a life-threatening immune hyperreaction called the cytokine storm, which can eventually destroy healthy tissue.

“We don’t fully understand that, but obesity leads to immunodeficiency,” said Tewksbury of Penn.

Coronaviruses also use a cell surface protein called ACE2 to enter cells, where they replicate, emerge, and infect neighboring cells.

“Despite the lung’s primary entry point for COVID-19, increased ACE2 (production) in adipose tissue makes it a more vulnerable target for COVID-19 infection.” University of Leicester, UK ..

Prior to the pandemic, the rise in global obesity was a major public health concern. COVID-19 just raised it.

“This pandemic emphasized that more-less-must be done to tackle and prevent obesityWrote in a journal by a researcher at the University of Glasgow circulation..

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