There is a strong association between obesity and mortality in general and now researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee investigated whether excess body weight has been associated with an increased COVID-19 mortality rate.
And they found that there is a positive association between obesity and increased COVID-19 mortality rate, according to Medical Xpress.
Lead investigator Prof. Hamid Beladi and his colleagues, who published a study in Public Health in Practice, analyzed possible associations of COVID-19 mortality and obesity in nearly 5.5 billion adults from 154 countries.
Prof. Beladi said, “The main finding from the analysis is a statistically significant positive association between COVID-19 mortality and the proportion of the overweight in adult populations spanning 154 countries.”
“This association holds across countries belonging to different income groups and is not sensitive to a population’s median age, the proportion of the elderly, and/or proportion of females,” he added.
The researchers explained that it is reasonable to predict that COVID-19 mortality would be higher in people with obesity.
“The average individual is less likely to die from COVID-19 in a country with a relatively low proportion of the overweight in the adult population, all other things being equal, than she or he would be in a country with a relatively high proportion of the overweight in the adult population,” Prof. Beladi said.
The authors also explained that obesity is associated with several comorbidities, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19 illness and ultimately death.
Underlying medical conditions, especially metabolic disorders like diabetes, could predispose people to a poorer COVID-19 outcome.
The investigators said on average, the “COVID-19 pandemic has been more fatal for adult populations residing in parts of the world characterized by excess body weight,” according to Medical Xpress.
The study findings suggest upholding public policy regulations on the food industry. Prof. Beladi said the findings call for immediate and effective regulations on the food industry, which are long overdue.
He said, “Some firms in the food industry have taken the liberty of using the pandemic as a platform for marketing in ways that are all but conducive to restraining body weight.”
“Our observed association, between COVID-19 mortality and the share of the overweight in nearly 5.5 billion adults residing across 154 countries that host almost 7.5 billion people around the globe, serves as a caution against putting more lives at stake,” Prof. Beladi added. The article was published in Medical Xpress.
