Weight As A COVID-19 Risk Factor

A recent article talks about obesity as a significant risk factor for covid 19 complications.

There have been several articles and expert opinions voicing that a central problem associated with higher risk factors for covid19 complications is that of metabolic syndrome.

The article finds that age of 75 or older, inflammatory markers (c-reactive protein and ferritin levels), and oxygen levels were all significantly associated with serious complications.

The greatest risk factor was being 65 or older and obese.

The vast majority of all the high risk group’s chronic diseases are lifestyle diseases. This is not meant to place blame in any way on people who are suffering.

It’s meant to offer hope in that this is something we can improve every day which makes us more resilient for this challenge and the ones that come after it.

There are no guarantees for the coronavirus or a future heart attack. You can improve your odds though by improving your health.

Reference:
Factors associated with hospitalization and critical illness among 4,103 patients with COVID-19 disease in New York City. Christopher M. Petrilli, et al. Article is a pre-print which has not been peer reviewed.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20057794v1