Community Chat

[Foxxee]

I've been hearing this for months, but I think its impact has been under publicized.  

"Researchers want overweight people to be prioritized for vaccinations.

Death rates were 10 times higher in countries such as the US where at least 50 percent of the total population is overweight.

Mortality data from Johns Hopkins University and the WHO Global Health Observatory data that showed a total of 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths worldwide were in countries with high levels of obesity.

Vietnam has the lowest coronavirus death rate in the world and the second-lowest level of overweight people, at just 0.04 deaths per 100,000 from COVID-19 with 18.3 percent of adults overweight, according to WHO data.

The US saw about 152 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and has a 68 percent obesity rate."

Link

90 percent of COVID deaths occur in countries with high obesity (nypost.com)

[Kalli]

@Foxxee Obesity carries with it the higher incidence of other health problems, like high BP and diabetes.  It is my understanding that both of these are risk factors for the worst cases of Covid.

Is the US really at 68% obesity?  Or did I read that wrong? Yikes!

[Carmie]

The obesity rate in the US was 42% for 2020.

[Tinkrbl44]

The definition of obesity is being grossly fat or overweight ... as in at least 50 pounds more than their "ideal"average  weight.   Yikes.

[Johnnyeager]

The misinformation in the article is shocking, but not really surprising. 

It's pretty clear to me that the author of the Post article did not read or review the source research paper published by WORLDOBESITY.ORG, but may have relied on some shoddily written summary.

As noted, the actual adult obesity rate in the United States is likely between 42%-44%, an average of male and female rates.

Going through the WORLDOBESITY document, the only figure I can find referencing 68% is:  in the United States 68% of Adults are classified as "overweight" based upon BMI>25kg/m squared.

Lesson:  Don't believe everything you read here, or everything you read in a publication, unless you find and read the source material itself.

[happycat]

How ironic. A lot of us have gained weight in the last year, it has made us  even more vulnerable.

[Kalli]

I do believe many more in US are overweight now than ever before due to our bad food choices.  I am just as guilty as the rest and I fight these choices regularly.  I'm not overweight due to my genes, not because I've made healthy choices over the years.  I assure you I have not.  I just didn't gain until post-meno.  Then I was forced to change my diet.

Now that I'm retired I eat much healthier.  I have the time to do that.  Very little red meat and lots of fruits and veggies.  Too bad I didn't start this sooner.  I wish I had but at the time I didn't think it would come back to smack me like it did.  

[tansy]

As a nation, we are in terrible shape.  

This is from CNBC:  An overwhelming majority of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the CDC said in a new study Monday.

Among 148,494 adults who received a Covid-19 diagnosis during an emergency department or inpatient visit at 238 U.S. hospitals from March to December, 71,491 were hospitalized. Of those who were admitted, 27.8% were overweight and 50.2% were obese, according to the CDC report. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of 25 or more while obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.

The agency found the risk for hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths was lowest among individuals with BMIs under 25. The risk of severe illness “sharply increased,” however, as BMIs rose, particularly among people 65 and older, the agency said.

Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics.

[Hippiified]

Um. 
Never mind.

[Porcelain]

Deaths are also lower in countries run by women. Happy Women's Day!

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