Obesity can boost your chances of death in COVID-19 case

New Delhi : Are you obese and want to lose weight soon, we would recommend do it as soon as possible, it has been learned that that obese people are at higher risk of severe illness or even death from coronavirus.

"The current evidence is clear that being overweight or obese puts you at greater risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19, as well as from many other life-threatening diseases," said Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at the Public Health England (PHE).

The data by PHE shows that people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30-35 have a 40 per cent higher risk of death from COVID-19 and it gets increased by 90% for those with a BMI over 40 compared to those of a healthy weight.

People with a BMI of over 30 are classed as obese under the system. PHE said that almost 63% of adults in England are overweight or obese.

There have been many studies which have claimed that obesity has a direct relation with the increased severity of influenza A, higher viral titers in exhaled breath and prolonged transmission of the virus.

As with the influenza virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recognized obesity as a risk factor for severe illness caused by SARS-CoV-2.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to tackle obesity and has himself lost weight since he was admitted to intensive care with COVID-19.

On Friday, Johnson said people should lose weight, with reports that government restrictions on advertising unhealthy foods could come next week.

"I'm not normally a believer in nannying, bossing politics but the reality is that obesity is one of the comorbidity factors," Johnson said.