COVID-19. High risks linked to obesity.

COVID-19 manifests in more severe forms in obese people. Among the causes are high levels of inflammation and immune system imbalances.

By: Oasis Team

People who are overweight should observe social distancing and hand hygiene measures even more strictly to protect themselves from COVID-19. In severely obese patients, the course of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is typically more severe, as is evident from a number of epidemiological studies. This increased susceptibility should lead to an increase in public health protection measures in geographical areas and population groups where obesity – and malnutrition – are more widespread.

Obesity is a major risk factor for severe forms of COVID-19.

Respiratory problems

Obese people who become ill with COVID-19 are at a higher risk of requiring mechanical ventilation. This is according to research conducted in France with COVID-19 patients in intensive care – published in the scientific journal... The Conversation – reveals that 90% of obese patients with severe forms of the infection required mechanical ventilation. In New York, more than 2 out of every 5 patients on ventilators were obese.

Excess body fat in the chest and abdomen can compress the lungs, making it difficult for them to fill to their maximum capacity. All of this can create respiratory stress from the beginning of the infectious process in obese patients, not to mention that being overweight means needing a greater oxygen demand in the body. This is enough to create initial risk conditions in the face of an infection that largely compromises the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system. But the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in obese patients is so high that it certainly requires other explanations as well.

Excessive defenses

Obese people are more frequently affected by diffuse inflammation and imbalances in the immune system. Relevant inflammatory markers in COVID-19 infections are more common in their blood. Furthermore, adipose tissue is a natural reservoir of large quantities of immune cells, such as macrophages and T lymphocytes: the former devour infectious agents, while the latter alert the rest of the body to the presence of a dangerous pathogen.

This "extra" immune reserve may make obese COVID patients more prone to developing a true cytokine storm – a disproportionate immune reaction that can cause more damage to the body and tissues than inflammation itself. Currently, hundreds of potentially effective drugs against COVID-19 are being studied: some are immunosuppressants, others act as anti-inflammatories. But months of research and testing will still be needed to determine if they work, and in the meantime, it is necessary to avoid as much as possible all risks of contracting the infection.