Ross Clark Ross Clark

Covid-19 and the problem with Britain’s weight

How strong is the link between obesity and the danger of dying from Covid? Yesterday, the World Obesity Federation published a report containing a widely-quoted statistic that 2.2 million out of 2.5 million Covid deaths globally have occurred in countries where more than half the population is overweight. The figure is stark, although also highly unsatisfactory. Obesity tends to be more prevalent in wealthy countries – which also happen to have more aged populations, another strong risk factor in Covid deaths.

Yet the report also collates a substantial body of evidence linking obesity more directly with Covid deaths. Among the findings reported around the world is a British study finding that overweight people are 67 per cent more likely to end up in intensive care if they develop Covid-19, a Spanish study which found that obese people are 51 per cent more likely to die when they develop the disease and a Swiss study which found obese people were three times more at risk of death.

Why should being overweight or obese increase the risk of dying? One factor which has been raised is the effect of excess weight on breathing – making it harder for the diaphragm to contract. A UCL study from last August found that risk of death rose steadily with BMI. The correlation held firm when the researchers adjusted the figures for such factors as ethnicity and heart disease, but weakened when they adjusted it for haemoglobin and cholesterol levels – leading the authors to speculate that the underlying cause might be impaired glucose regulation and its effect on T cells.

Whatever the factors involved, the link between obesity and the risk of Covid death has been confirmed in several hundred studies. Public Health England has published its own report.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in