Being overweight and obese could pose a problem during COVID-19. Fat people are at a greater risk of getting more severely ill with COVID-19, a study suggests.
Although scientists have yet to learn about the specific mechanisms that explain this link, some likely factors, as reported in Hindustan Times (HT) are the following:
More strain due to fat
Fatty tissue and COVID-19
The adipose or fatty tissue has high levels of an enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE2. This is used by the new coronavirus to enter cells.
People with higher levels of ACE2 in their blood and other tissues are likely to be more susceptible to COVID-19 infection, the report said.
Being fat and COVID-19, a ‘clash of two pandemics’
Francesco Rubino, an expert on obesity and chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London, calls the COVID-obesity link a “clash of two pandemics”, reported HT.
“The (coronavirus) pandemic really brings to the fore the need to tackle obesity more aggressively,” he said. “One lesson from the pandemic of Covid-19 is that not treating obesity is not an option,” the report quoted him as saying.
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