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Health
Obesity makes people more likely to catch COVID, study suggests: ‘Indisputable relationship’
Obesity has often been described as a “gateway disease” leading to other conditions — and one of those is COVID-19, according to a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Patients with obesity were found to have a 34% higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 compared to non-obese people, researchers found.
The study analyzed over 72,000 patients from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, all of whom had either been exposed to COVID or tested positive for the virus between March 2020 and Jan. 2021, according to a press release.
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The findings were published in PNAS Nexus on Tuesday.
For adults, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines.
For children, the obesity guideline was a growth curve above the 95th percentile, per the criteria from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Obesity rates among younger people are expected to approach 50% by 2030, according to the researchers.
“Obesity is not only a risk factor for worsened outcomes, but also increases the risk for infection upon exposure,” the researchers wrote in the study findings.
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“Identifying such populations early will be crucial for curbing the spread of this infectious disease.”
The results of the study were not surprising to medical experts, including Dr. Rekha Kumar, chief medical officer of Found, a telehealth weight care provider.
“We’ve known for some time that obesity is associated with increased severity of COVID-19, including higher risks of hospitalization, ICU admission and death,” Kumar, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital. She is also a practicing endocrinologist in New York City at NewYork-Presbyterian.
“This study extends our understanding by suggesting that obesity also increases the risk of initial infection.”
“Whenever you have an increased inflammatory process in the body, it greatly affects the immune system.”
Walter Gaman, M.D., of Executive Medicine of Texas, was not involved in the study, but also noted that the connection between obesity and COVID is “no surprise.”
“We know that obesity is associated with inflammation and chronic diseases,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Whenever you have an increased inflammatory process in the body, it greatly affects the immune system,” he went on. “This is congruent with the findings of the study.”
Underweight individuals were also at great risk at the height of the pandemic, Gaman pointed out.
“It would be interesting to see a study that addresses both overweight and underweight correlations to COVID,” he added.
Why does obesity increase COVID risk?
There are several potential reasons for the link, according to Kumar, ranging from impaired immune function to coexisting conditions.
“Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and alterations in immune responses, which can compromise the body’s ability to fight off infections effectively,” she said.
“Additionally, obesity is often associated with other coexisting conditions, including diabetes and hypertension, which are themselves risk factors for COVID-19.”
Based on the findings, Gaman recommended that people obtain and maintain a healthy weight — not just for cosmetic reasons, but to improve their health.
“There is an indisputable relationship between obesity and the immune system, chronic disease and early death,” he confirmed.
“Regular exercise and a healthy diet are the first lines of defense when it comes to strengthening the immune system.”
Kumar recommends that people with obesity continue to take extra precautions to avoid COVID-19 exposure — and that they speak with a medical provider if they need more specific guidance.
Potential limitations
The researchers acknowledged several limitations of the study, primarily that it relied on people self-reporting their exposure to the virus.
Also, all patients are from the Mass General Brigham health care network, which means they may not be representative of a wider population.
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The researchers also used data from patients’ electronic health records, which are subject to errors.
“It’s a case-control study, which can show associations but not prove causation,” Kumar added.
Another potential limitation is that the study relied on BMI as the sole measure of obesity, she noted, which doesn’t account for body composition or fat distribution.
“BMI can be a helpful measure for some things, but it’s not comprehensive,” she said.
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There may also be underlying factors impacting COVID risk that were not considered, such as socioeconomic status or health care access, according to Kumar.
“I’d like to see this (and any) research replicated to include a broader audience to ensure that it’s as accurate and inclusive as possible,” she said.
Health
Thriving with anxiety: Expert tips on embracing the mental health condition
Facing anxiety head-on and approaching it differently can enhance your life.
That’s according to David H. Rosmarin, PhD, a psychologist and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who delivers the advice in his new book, “Thriving with Anxiety: 9 Tools to Make Your Anxiety Work for You.”
Rosmarin shared with Fox News Digital that overcoming his own journey with anxiety allowed him to better help others.
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In “Thriving with Anxiety,” he writes that he unexpectedly found himself suffering from the disorder as he set up an anxiety clinic in New York City in 2011.
He had already established a name for himself in Boston, but was struggling to get patient referrals in New York while facing mounting expenses and a tough commute between the two cities.
Rosmarin writes, “A wave of anxiety swept over me. This was followed quickly by a sense of self-criticism for being hypocritical, followed by a surge of catastrophic thinking.”
He describes feeling embarrassed and “headed for failure” — wondering how he could help people overcome their anxiety when he was suffering from it himself.
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“Judging yourself for feeling anxious is like beating someone up when they are on the floor in order to get them to stand,” he said.
But he found a way to become more conscientious about making healthy lifestyle choices – eating more nutritious foods, exercising more frequently, and opening up to others about his challenges.
Hidden benefits of anxiety
People who have anxiety are often conscientious and driven, which can help prime them for leadership roles, the book notes.
Having anxiety can also lead to greater understanding and self-acceptance, according to Rosamarin.
Anxiety can also lead to empathy, he told Fox News Digital.
“When someone has been through the depths of difficulty, they can see the struggle on another person’s face,” Rosmarin said.
10 NATURAL WAYS TO MANAGE ANXIETY
“They understand what it means to feel uncomfortable, and it can create that compassion.”
Anxiety is not a malady, he said, but “a normal human emotion that we all experience, and we can use it to improve our inner strength, our relationships with others and our spiritual lives.”
5 tips for managing anxiety
Rosmarin offered the following tips for making the most of anxiety.
1. Lean into it
Instead of trying to avoid anxiety, the key is to face or even embrace it, he said.
“We can criticize ourselves for feeling anxious, get upset about it, run away from it … or we can lean into it,” Rosmarin said.
This requires a “healthy dose of self-compassion,” he said — and a recognition that part of being human is feeling overwhelmed at times.
2. Practice positive self-talk
Rosmarin suggests in his book that people speak kindly to themselves, allow time away from upsetting situations, and avoid self-deprecating language.
“There are ways to build your physical strength and there are ways to build your emotional fortitude.”
When he changed his inner dialogue to speak more gently to himself, he became more self-aware and found the self-acceptance he needed to forge ahead, he writes.
3. Try exposure therapy
Exposure therapy, a mental health practice in which people face their fears, can also help them withstand adversity rather than let it control them, the psychologist said.
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For example, if you are afraid of public speaking, Rosmarin recommends building resilience by raising your hand at a meeting, wearing something that draws attention to yourself, or even singing karaoke.
“You don’t have to do this, but you also don’t have to go to the gym and work out,” he said.
“There are ways to build your physical strength and there are ways to build your emotional fortitude.”
The goal of this practice is to get to the point where you don’t care anymore if you are anxious — and even though it’s uncomfortable, it’s not going to stop you, he said.
4. Share your fears
The next step is to share your fears with someone, if possible, and reassure yourself that the anxiety won’t last forever, Rosmarin told Fox News Digital.
“Embrace it … let it ride and let yourself feel the feelings,” he advised.
5. Seek calm
The last step, which Rosmarin said is the most important, is to let go.
The psychologist mentioned that humans have a “built-in cooling system” called the “rest and digest” system — which helps the body calm down.
“We’re human beings, and we don’t have control over everything,” he noted.
“The more we accept that, the more serenity we can have.”
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Rosmarin’s Center for Anxiety now operates clinics in three states, treating nearly 1,500 patients each year, he told Fox News Digital.
“Thriving with Anxiety: 9 Tools to Make Your Anxiety Work for You” is published by Harper Horizon.
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