COVID-19 Death Rates Higher in Obese Countries
According to a World Obesity Federation (WOF) report, countries with high levels of overweight people accounted for around 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from COVID-19.
The countries where more than half the adults had a BMI of more than 25kg/m2 had ten times higher death rates.
The WOF states that overweight people should be given greater priority for vaccinations and tests due to their increased death risk.
‘Although age is the biggest factor in the death toll, being overweight comes second.’
Belgium has the highest number of deaths, followed by Slovenia and the UK. Italy and Portugal are 5th and 6th respectively, while the US is 8th. In all these countries, more than half the adult population is overweight.
With the second-lowest level of overweight population, Vietnam has the lowest Covid death rate in the world.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, commented that the report is a wake-up call for governments across the world to tackle obesity and the poor health it causes.
"Investment in public health and coordinated, international action to tackle the root causes of obesity is one of the best ways for countries to build resilience in health systems post-pandemic: we urge all countries to seize this moment," he adds.
The report states that although age is the biggest factor in the death toll, being overweight comes second. "We were shocked to see such a high correlation between a country's proportion of overweight adults and its deaths from Covid-19," said Dr. Tim Lobstein, report author.
Nearly 48% of COVID patients in the UK (where 64% of adults are overweight or obese) in intensive care are obese, 32% are overweight, and only 20% are of normal weight. In the USA (where 68% of adults are overweight and obese), 64% of COVID patients in intensive care are obese, 24% are overweight, and only 12% have normal weight.
"There are rich countries with low levels of overweight, like Japan and South Korea, and they have very low Covid death rates. Equally, there are lower-income countries like South Africa and Brazil, where the overweight is now affecting more than half the population, where we see high Covid-19 death rates," Lobstein adds.
He says that the governments have been negligent and have failed to tackle obesity, despite setting targets at UN meetings.
He points out that although many make a living selling individual weight plans and weight-loss products, these don't seem to work for our society due to its incentives for cheap food consumption and rising inequalities.
Michael R Bloomberg, WHO ambassador, commented that the results highlight the importance of fighting obesity worldwide, specifically lower- and middle-income countries where rates are rising fastest.
Source: Medindia