A new Oxford study recently found that people who are considered to be in the upper portions of the 'healthy' body mass index or BMI range are at higher risk of contracting severe COVID-19.
A Mail Online report specified that one is considered to have a healthy BMI if it is between 18.5 and 25. However, this new research presents that every point above 23, the risk of a person of hospital admission due to severe COVID-19 increases by five percent. They are 10 percent more likely as well to require intensive care treatment compared to their slimmer peers.
However, the risk is more substantial in younger people, and those aged from 20 to 39 years old are nine percent more at risk of hospital confinement for every BMI point above 23.
They are 13 percent more likely to stay in an ICU and 17 percent more likely to die than if they had a BMI of 23 and below.
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Previous research found that obese people are more at risk of severe COVID-19 and death from the disease.
Obese and Overweight People
Result of this new study, Associations between body-mass index and COVID-19 severity in 6·9 million people in England: a prospective, community-based, cohort study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology suggested that obese and overweight people need to be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19, instead of continuing with the age approach.
In addition, analysis of nearly seven million anonymized health records of people residing in England revealed that more than 13,500 COVID-19 patients who needed hospital care from January 24 to April 30, 2020.
The University of Oxford researchers compared the BMI of the patients with their battle against COVID-19 and discovered that the risk of severe infection increased with bodyweight.
Previous research found that obese people are more at risk of severe COVID-19 and death from the disease, although this is the first study to examine the BMI range.
As a result, researchers of this previous study revealed that both age and body weight is linked to the disease's risk. The link was shown to be more evident in younger individuals despite lower numbers in cases in general.
Increase in BMI, Rise Risk of Severe COVID-19
The study's lead author Dr. Carmen Piernas, from the Nuffield Department of primary care sciences of the University of Oxford, said their study shows that even very modest weight gain is linked to greater risks of COVID-19 complications, and the said risks sharply rise as BMI increases.
Dr. Piernas added that they show the risks linked to excess weight in those whose age is below 40 years, while weight has slight to totally no impact on the odds of developing severe COVID-19 after 80 years old.
Research findings suggest that vaccination policies need to prioritize those who are obese, especially now that the COVID-19 vaccine has been rolled out to the younger population.
In addition, risks linked to higher BMI points were greater for black people than whites, and no evidence was found that the risks for other ethnic groups varied from those of the white group.
Weight Loss Effect
Professor Paul Aveyard from the University of Oxford's Nuffield Government of primary care health science, who co-led the study, said they don't know yet that weight loss affects specifically reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
However, he added, it is probable and will surely bring other health benefits. "Losing weight," he explained, is difficult, and the recent NHS investment to enhance access to weight management programs could aid in reducing the severity of the virus at a population level, not to mention lessen the pressure on health care systems while lowering the dangers as well, for diabetes and other cancers.
The authors also explained their research has various restrictions, which include the analysis of the effect of BMI, which may be restricted by the smaller sample of individuals with recent measurements of BMI.
Nevertheless, the results did not change when the study authors did not include BMI measurements that were over a year old at the beginning of the study period.
A related report is shown on Mayo Clinic's YouTube video below:
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