Countries with a high level of overweight people, such as the United Kingdom and the USA, have the highest mortality rate due to Covid-19, according to a landmark report which calls on governments to urgently address obesity, as well as to help overweight people prioritize vaccinations.
About 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths due to Covid were in countries with a high level of overweight people, according to the World Obesity Federation report. Countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy, where more than 50% of adults are overweight, have the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths.
The issue is not just obesity, but the weight levels that many accept are normal in many countries. Mortality rates are ten times higher in cases where more than half of the adults have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25 kg / m2 – the point at which normal weight leads to overweight.
People who are overweight should be given greater priority for vaccinations and tests because of their increased risk of death, says the World Obesity Federation.
Among countries where more than half of the adult population is overweight, Belgium has the highest mortality rate, followed by Slovenia and the United Kingdom. Italy and Portugal are 5th and 6th, while the US is 8th.
In Vietnam, on the other hand, it has the lowest Covid mortality rate in the world and the second lowest level of overweight in the population.
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The director general of the World Health Organization said the report should serve as a wake-up call to governments worldwide to tackle obesity and the poor health it causes.
“The link between Covid-19 obesity and mortality is clear and compelling,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Public health investment and coordinated, international action to tackle the causes of obesity is one of the best ways for countries to build resilience in pandemic health systems: we urge all countries to seize this moment.”
The biggest factor in the death toll is age, the report says, but being overweight comes second. It is already known that it increases the risk of people when they contract infectious diseases like flu.
“We were shocked to see such a high link between a country’s percentage of overweight adults and its death from Covid-19,” said Dr Tim Lobstein, author of the report and former adviser to the WTO and England Public health, said.
“We knew there was a problem in a few countries, but we found it to be remarkably consistent around the world – with only a few outliers like New Zealand and Iceland, where they took strong measures to to protect vulnerable populations. “
The risks increase with increasing overweight. An analysis of data seen by the Guardian shows that in the UK, where almost 64% of adults are overweight or obese, almost 20% of Covid patients in intensive care have a normal weight, 32% overweight and 48% obese. In the US, where overweight and obese adults are 68%, 12% of Covid patients in intensive care have normal weight, 24% are overweight and 64% are obese.
The results allow for age and are not skewed by poor data from some countries, Lobstein said. Deaths are usually accurately reported, even if they are not hospitalizations. They adjusted for GDP and found that income levels did not play a role either. ‘There are rich countries with low overweight, such as Japan and South Korea, and they have very low mortality rates in Covid. “Similarly, there are lower-income countries such as South Africa and Brazil, where overweight now affects more than half of the population, where we see high death rates in Covid-19,” he said.
“We now know that an overweight population is the next pandemic waiting to happen,” Lobstein said.
‘Governments have been negligent and ignore the economic value of a healthy population at their peril. Over the past decade, they have not tackled obesity, despite setting targets at United Nations meetings. Covid-19 is only the latest infection exacerbated by weight gain, but the warning signs were there. ”
Most countries will miss the UN target of halving the increase in obesity levels between 2010 and 2025. ‘It looks like governments want to avoid commercial interests in food and agriculture. ‘Just like global warming and ocean pollution, the problem must be managed worldwide, to ensure that industry and the market are there to serve people’s health and the health of the planet,’
It was a difficult call for individuals because it is very difficult to lose weight. “People deserve the sale of individual weight plans and weight loss products, but in a society like ours, with its incentives for cheap food consumption and the growing inequalities, personal products are obviously not enough,” he said.
Michael R Bloomberg, WHO Ambassador for Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries, said the results “emphasize the importance of fighting obesity around the world, even in low- and middle-income countries where rates are rising fastest. We have seen the positive impact on healthy food policies in dozens of countries, and together we can make even more progress in improving and improving lives. ”