Factbox: How does being fatter increase severe COVID-19 risk?

By Kate Kelland

 

FILE PHOTO: A passenger waits for a delayed flight at Heathrow airport's terminal four in London August 12, 2006. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Evidence emerging around the world suggests that people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk of getting more severely ill with COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus.

 

Scientists are still learning about which specific mechanisms might explain this link, but they say some likely factors are:

 

FAT ADDS STRAIN

 

- Obesity leads to fat accumulation in vital organs like the heart, and leads to insulin resistance and high blood pressure. This means obesity often coincides with other health conditions, including diabetes, a weaker heart, and less well-functioning liver and kidneys.

 

- Excess fat can also affect the respiratory system. In other words, it can make someone breathless and less able to get oxygen into the blood and around the body. It is also likely to have an effect on inflammatory and immune functions.

 

- "Obesity puts extra pressure and metabolic strain on almost every organ system of the body," said Susan Jebb, a professor of diet and population health at Britain's Oxford University. "So it's perhaps not surprising that it also exacerbates the risk of COVID-19 complications."

 

FATTY TISSUE

 

- Fatty tissue - also known as adipose tissue - has high levels of an enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE2, which is used by the new coronavirus to enter cells.

 

People with higher levels of ACE2 in their blood and other tissues are likely to be more susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

 

TWO 'PANDEMICS' CLASH

 

Francesco Rubino, an expert on obesity and chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King's College London, calls the COVID-obesity link a "clash of two pandemics".

 

"The (coronavirus) pandemic really brings to the fore the need to tackle obesity more aggressively," he said. "One lesson from the pandemic of COVID-19 is that not treating obesity is not an option."

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-27

 

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So Covid-19 is fat shaming now .... Not very PC

 

Maybe a bit over the top .. but please explain to me what the health benefits are from being fat .....

Classic they way they put a random porker picture from 14 years ago into the article.

she is not fat, she just have a sturdy bone structure

These days , it became much harder to see a girl that is not fat ... a pity , before they were more pretty ...

more fat = less VITAMIN D in the blood that can fight virus

5 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

more fat = less VITAMIN D in the blood that can fight virus

Add some zinc, selenium and Vit C to that mixture and hey Presto! along with out immune systems we are able to survive!

Not going to sell many vaccines or spread fear with talk like this though - Fake news? 

20 hours ago, rvaviator said:

but please explain to me what the health benefits are from being fat .....

When you're placed in a CCP gulag, you'll last longer.

5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

These days , it became much harder to see a girl that is not fat ... a pity , before they were more pretty ...

When I was last time in Cambodia I was reminded of how Thai girls looked like many years ago. 40kg - nice!

But to be fair I also gained a few kg.