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.
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. (iStock)
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.
“Obesity is not only a risk factor for worsened outcomes, but also increases the risk for infection upon exposure,” the researchers wrote. (iStock)
“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.”
“There is an indisputable relationship between obesity and the immune system, chronic disease and early death,” a doctor said. (iStock)
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 rates among younger people are expected to approach 50% by 2030, according to the researchers. (Getty Images)
“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.
A doctor 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. (iStock)
“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.
Obesity is often associated with other coexisting conditions, including diabetes and hypertension. (iStock)
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.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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