Obesity increases the likelihood of death from coronavirus by 43% and doubles the risk of requiring inpatient treatment with COVID-19, reports The Daily Telegraph. At the same time, according to the publication, the most significant effect of excessive completeness on the mortality rate from COVID-19 has among the population under the age of 60 years.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after being hospitalized with COVID-19, was convinced that he was in intensive care because of completeness, writes The Daily Telegraph. As a result, the head of state declared war not only on his excess weight, but also on the extra pounds of the British, two thirds of whom are overweight or obese. According to sources, announcing his intention, Johnson even said: “Everything is in order, you are thin.”
In this regard, The Daily Telegraph asked whether there is a connection between the fact that the UK ranks first in the number of people with obesity in Western Europe and the high mortality from coronavirus in the country.
As the newspaper notes, there is more evidence that the two factors are related. So, a recent study of almost half a million Britons, conducted by scientists from the University of Glasgow, showed that obesity doubles the risk of requiring inpatient treatment with COVID-19.
Moreover, according to a recent analysis of over 28,000 hospital admissions by the government’s Emergency Research Advisory Group (SAGE), significant excess weight increases the likelihood of dying from the virus by 43%.
Studies have also shown that a third of all deaths from coronavirus in hospitals in England are in people with type 2 diabetes, which often accompanies overweight.
At the same time, according to the agency at the UK Department of Health, Public Health England, 29% of British adults suffer from overweight compared with the world average of 19.5%.
According to the agency, men die from coronavirus twice as often as women. Moreover, in the UK, men aged 45 to 64 years suffer most from obesity, 36% of the British included in this group have it.
The Daily Telegraph notes that the fight against the spread of coronavirus in the UK is often compared with experience on this issue in Germany. Despite the fact that quarantine was introduced in both countries on March 23, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 36 thousand British and more than 8 thousand Germans.
Although quarantine in Germany began with 86 deaths, and in Great Britain with 359 deaths, and the latter cannot provide daily German coronavirus tests per week, there are noticeable differences in the health status of the population of the two countries. Thus, only less than 24% of Germans are overweight compared with 29% of Britons.
In this case, SAGE data indicate a significant effect of excessive completeness on mortality among the younger population of the UK. In particular, among Britons under 60 years of age, the mortality rate of those who are obese is 35.2%, compared with 15.9% of the more slender residents of Misty Albion.
Among hospitalized Britons with obesity under the age of 40 years, the mortality rate is 11.7%, which is more than three times higher than the figure of only 3.2% among those who do not suffer from overweight.
However, The Daily Telegraph notes, the reason for the relationship between obesity and high mortality remains unknown. One of the opinions says that significant excess weight increases the risk of breathing problems with a lack of oxygen, which is one of the main reasons for hospitalization.
And someone believes that obese people have an inflammatory reaction with COVID-19 is stronger. All this is complicated by the fact that those who are obese are much more likely to suffer from many other concomitant diseases, such as heart and kidney disease or asthma.
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