Before I list the top 6 alarming facts it’s important to explain a term that you are going to hear a lot more and that is comorbidity.
I mentioned it in the first video and comorbidity is where you have two or more disorders or illnesses occurring in the same person.
Why is comorbidity important?
It’s so important because more and more individuals are being treated with multiple coexisting diseases. It’s now the norm rather than the exception.
What has comorbidity got to do with Covid-19?
Clinical research shows that patients who present with COVID-19 and any comorbidity yielded poorer clinical outcomes than those without.
Also, the more comorbidities a patient had the poorer their clinical outcome.
Ok, but what’s that got to do with obesity?
Generally, over time, obese patients are at risk of developing some of the following diseases: insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes , hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, gout and osteoarthritis.
I hope you can clearly see the link between comorbidity, Covid-19 and obesity.
It is important to point out that prior to Covid-19, comorbidity and obesity were just as dangerous a combination, as heart disease which is directly linked to obesity, is one of the biggest killers worldwide with an estimated 18 million deaths annually.
And bringing it closer to home, some 10,000 deaths in Ireland each year.
The Top 6 Alarming Facts
- Over 70% of people admitted to ICU are either overweight or obese and you are 7 times more likely to be put on a ventilator.
- People with a BMI between 30-34 are 100% more likely to be admitted to ICU.
- You are 7 times more likey to die from coronavirus if you are obese.
- Being obese is a more significant predictor of a bad outcome than type 2 diabetes or heart disease, it’s almost up there with being over 80 years of age.
- Generally, with obesity there is a lot of abdominal fat and that pushes back up on the diaphragm giving the lungs less room to be able to move and to breathe. Remember, Covid-19 is a respiratory disease that is concentrated in the lungs.
- Obesity has a negative impact on our immune systems and is now known to switch off the part of the immune system that mounts the initial response to Covid-19.
In addition, a healthy immune system tries to remember an infection so that the next time that you get it you deal with it in a calm way. Obesity acts as a block so the immune memory is reduced.
I know that all sounds pretty grim but don’t worry, the good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce your BMI to within a healthy range.
You can improve your BMI within a few weeks by improving your diet.
If you increase your level of physical activity by just 5% you will improve your immune function by 5%. If you have good blood sugar control then your outcome is more likely to be good.
In the next video I’ll chat to you about your BMI and what you need to know and more importantly, what you need to do.
Click here for the last video – Making Life Safer, An Introduction
