A woman walks down the street on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.
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The overwhelming majority of people who were hospitalized, needed a respirator or died of Covid-19 were either overweight or obese, said the CDC in a new study on Monday.
Among 148,494 adults who were diagnosed with Covid-19 during an emergency department or visiting an inpatient in 238 US hospitals from March to December, 71,491 were hospitalized. Of those who were hospitalized, 27.8% were overweight and 50.2% were obese, according to the CDC report. Overweight is defined as a body mass index of 25 or more, while obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or more.
The agency found that the risk of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths was lower among individuals with a BMI below 25. The risk of serious illnesses “increased dramatically,” however, as the BMI increased, particularly among people aged 65 or over. more, said the agency.
Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the latest statistics from the agency.
It doesn’t take much extra weight to be considered obese or overweight. A 5-foot, 10-inch 175-pound man and a 5-foot, 4-inch 146-pound woman would be considered overweight with a BMI of just over 25, according to the CDC’s BMI calculator. A man and woman of the same height would be considered obese, weighing 210 pounds and 175 pounds, respectively.
“As doctors develop treatment plans for patients with COVID-19, they must consider the risk of serious outcomes in patients with higher BMI, especially for those with severe obesity,” wrote the agency.
The CDC added that the results highlight the higher clinical and public health implications of BMI, including the promotion of Covid prevention strategies, such as continued prioritization of vaccines, masking and policies to ensure community access to nutrition and physical activity.
Obesity is a common and expensive chronic disease in the United States. Non-Hispanic black adults have the highest reported obesity prevalence in the United States, followed by Hispanic and non-Hispanic white adults, according to the CDC.
The CDC previously noted that having obesity increases the risk of serious illness, including hospitalizations. Obesity is linked to impaired immune function and decreased lung capacity, which can hamper ventilation, the agency said.
The study had limitations, said the CDC. Risk estimates for severe Covid-19 were measured only among adults who received care at a hospital. Therefore, these estimates may differ from the risk among all adults with Covid, said the CDC. In addition, only patients with reported height and weight information were included in the report.
The CDC obtained data from PHD-SR, a large hospital database.