- The CDC found that people who are obese or very underweight have the highest risk of COVID-19.
- A BMI close to excess weight was associated with a lower risk of death, hospitalization or intensive care.
- BMI is an imperfect measure of health, but it is a tool to protect people at risk with obesity or underweight.
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People who are almost or slightly overweight may be less at risk of serious complications with COVID-19, according to a new report.
Although obesity was considered a risk factor for COVID-19 complications, a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people with a body mass slightly higher than that defined as “normal” can have a lower risk of death and serious illness.
The BMI categorizes anything above 24.9 as being overweight.
The CDC researchers studied data from 148,494 American adults who were hospitalized with COVID-19 from March to December 2020. They found that overweight or near-limit people – with a BMI between 23.7 and 25.9 – were the least likely. to be hospitalized, require intensive care or die of COVID-19, after accounting for age.
Supporting the previous evidence, people with obesity and people with a BMI below normal, such as 18.5 or less, had a much higher risk of complications from COVID-19.
These results suggest that the relationship between COVID-19 and body weight is not direct, and more differentiated studies like this one are crucial to assess the individual risk of coronavirus.
BMI is an imperfect measure of health
BMI is a measure of body weight in relation to height (you can calculate yours on the CDC website). Although it is often used to assess the risk of chronic illness, someone can have a higher BMI and be perfectly healthy.
“On an individual level, BMI may not be a perfect indicator of someone’s health risk. It is one of several measures we have to assess health risks,” said Dr. W. Scott Butsch, director of obesity medicine Cleveland Clinic, formerly Business Insider.
This is because BMI does not take into account body composition (the ratio of muscle to fat) or where body fat is distributed. Both factors can be important for health and for the risk of diseases such as metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases and
diabetes
.
The BMI was created in the 19th century and based on standards for white Europeans at the time, so it may not be accurate to assess the health of different demographic groups, including people of different races.
Despite its limitations, the higher BMI is a good reason to be vaccinated
Although a higher BMI does not guarantee health problems, there is good evidence that people with obesity are at a higher risk of serious complications with COVID-19.
For this reason, obesity is considered a condition for early access to the vaccine in many states.
It can also complicate a person’s relationship with the medical industry, since weight stigma is widespread, leading people to feel ashamed and marginalized for having obesity, even by some doctors.
This can discourage people from being vaccinated if they are obese.
However, despite the subtle relationship between weight and health, it is best to apply for this vaccine if you are able to protect yourself and the community, experts said to Anna Miller of Insider.
“If you can avoid COVID, you can avoid having to endure not only serious illness and residual complications, but also weight-conscious medical care that can make your results worse,” Christy Harrison, a registered dietitian on anti-diets who hosts the Food Psych podcast, previously reported to Insider.