Obesity: A Risk Factor for COVID-19

Emerging data have demonstrated increased mortality of COVID-19 patients suffering from comorbid conditions such as Type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Underlying risk in all these patients is an increase in bodyweight or obesity. The adverse health effects of obesity and how these factors enhance the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients is still unexplored.

The enhanced fat deposition might be a risk factor for increased mortality in COVID-19 patients.

We have reviewed and collected the information from online databases: Pubmed, Google scholar, Researchgate, to highlight the systematic link between obesity with associated risks in COVID-19.

We have reported the first study during the pandemic from France and New York, to a currently reported study in Mexico and found individuals with BMI ≥35 kg/m² or >40 kg/m² have greater risk of developing critical illness due to COVID-19, thereby increasing mortality.

Our study suggests obesity in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood can be considered a profound risk factor for greater susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 and is associated with nutritional, lifestyle, cardiac, respiratory, renal, and immunological alterations, which may potentiate the complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Further suggesting to check on BMI during this pandemic situation.