About 78% of people admitted to the hospital, needed a ventilator or died from COVID-19 were overweight or obsessive, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
The report followed more than 148,000 U.S. adults who received a COVID-19 diagnosis during an emergency department or an inpatient visit to 238 U.S. hospitals between March and December 2020. Of the adults, more than 28% were overweight while 50% were obese.
The CDC says a majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 last year were obese.
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The CDC defines overweight as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more, and obesity is defined as a BMI above 30.
The report found that the risks for hospitalizations, admission of ICUs and death were lowest for people with a BMI of less than 25.
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The CDC has asked clinicians dealing with COVID-19 patients to develop care plans that “consider the risk of serious outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity.”
These findings highlight the clinical and public health implications of higher BMIs, including the need for intensive COVID-19 disease management as the severity of obesity increases, the promotion of COVID-19 prevention strategies, including continued vaccination and prioritization of vaccines, and policies to ensure access to the community nutrition and physical activity that promotes and supports a healthy BMI, “reads the CDC’s report.
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According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in the US increased from about 30% to 42% between 1999 and 2018.