Study: Obese People Pay A Heavy Toll In COVID Fatalities

A new global study revealed that overweight people should be particularly fearful of COVID-19, stating that coronavirus fatality rates are 10 times higher in countries where at least 50% of adults are considered overweight.

Per Healthworld.com, the study compiled its data using COVID death numbers from Johns Hopkins University and obesity numbers from the World Health Organization.

"The report, which described a 'dramatic' correlation between countries' Covid-19 death and obesity rates, found that 90% or 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from the pandemic disease so far were in countries with high levels of obesity," Healthworld wrote.

Not surprisingly, the study found that countries with lowest obesity rates also had extremely low reports of death from COVID-19.

"Look at countries like Japan and South Korea, where they have very low levels of COVID-19 deaths as well as very low levels of adult obesity," said Tim Lobstein, an expert advisor to the World Obesity Federation and visiting professor at Australia's Sydney University, who co-led the report.

"They have prioritized public health across a range of measures, including population weight, and it has paid off in the pandemic."

Meanwhile, the United States and England, widely known as two of the world's most obese countries, reported a high level of COVID-related deaths. In the U.S., reports often chalked up heart issues and breathing issues solely to COVID. But those are also major symptoms of obesity.

"It's really important that we recognize that obesity ... increases the risk (of COVID-related death)," World Obesity Federation president John Wilding said of the report's findings. "Therefore, like other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, people with obesity should be considered for early priority in vaccination programs across the world."