I have returned from a much-needed 12-day break from the news, returning to California and finding little has changed from the mask-mad mandates that have been imposed for over a year.
Reviewing recent reports, I have noted that our media seems to be relatively silent on a factor that may be significant in assessing risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19: obesity.
For example, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Disease Research and Policy reports that two new, large studies from England and Mexico provide new details on obesity as a risk factor for poor COVID-19–related outcomes.
In the first study, published yesterday in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, University of Oxford researchers extracted data from the QResearch database for nearly 7 million English patients 20 years and older with available body mass index (BMI) values registered at an eligible general practice from Jan 24 to Apr 30, 2020.It is the largest study to date assessing body weight and COVID outcomes.Of 6,910,695 eligible patients with a mean BMI of 26.8 kg/m2, 0.20% were hospitalized, 0.02% were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and 0.08% died after they were diagnosed as having COVID-19. Roughly one third of patients with severe coronavirus outcomes had type 2 diabetes, and most were 60 years or older….The second study, led by researchers at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion and the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez in Mexico City, was published today in Epidemiology & Infection.The national observational study involved analyzing data from 15,529 COVID-19 inpatients and outpatients in Mexico’s 32 states from the National COVID-19 Epidemiological Surveillance Study between Feb 24 and Apr 26, 2020.The case-fatality rate was 9.2%, and 21% of hospitalized patients died. Obesity alone almost tripled the risk of death (aHR, 2.7), while obesity combined with other underlying illnesses increased the risk of death and other severe outcomes even further (diabetes HR, 2.79; immunosuppression HR, 5.06; high blood pressure HR, 2.30).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BMI between 18.5 to 25 is considered normal, above 25 is considered overweight, and 30 or more is considered obese.
These clearly scientific and conclusive findings correspond to an earlier report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent that about 78% of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator, or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese.
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.
Our media and some “experts” have been touting race as a risk factor, and prioritizing people for vaccinations based on ‘social justice’ ideology. However, there are weight statistics that should have serious bearing on discussions of coronavirus risk factors.
Bearing in mind that 42% of Americans are obese according the CDC definitions, the rate for black Americans is notably higher:
Among African-American adults, nearly 48 percent are clinically obese (including 37.1 percent of men and 56.6 percent of women, compared to 32.6 percent of whites (including 32.4 percent of men and 32.8 percent of women).
Hispanic American rates are higher still:
Over 60% of all Hispanic populations are either overweight or obese. Of the 60% that are overweight, more than half, 52%, are obese. Children 15 and younger rank highest among all obese groups; this stems from the myth that the thicker a child is healthier.
Instead of focusing on masks, our politicians, public health officials, and media would be more useful if they highlighted this information and adjusted their policies and discussions accordingly.
However, I suspect they will ignore this fact and cheer on “body positivity.”
David Hasselhoff’s daughter Hayley has become the first plus-size nude model to grace a Playboy cover.The curvaceous cover girl of Playboy Deutschland’s May issue described the groundbreaking event on British talk show “Lorraine” on Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported.“I think it’s very empowering,” said the “Baywatch” icon’s progeny, 28, who has been a curve model since she was 14. “To be asked to do something like this when we’re all worried about our own self-image, it was a revolution.”She added, “‘It was a great honor, and it’s a message for curvy women: to know they are wanted and desired.”
Of all the erroneous messages promoted during the coronavirus pandemic by the press and entertainment industry, ‘body positivity’ may be the deadliest.
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