CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese

[mefordis]

How would this pandemic have looked if we had no overweight or obese people?

CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese.

KEY POINTS

• About 78% of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new study Monday.
• Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of 25 or more, while obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.
• “As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity,” the CDC wrote.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/cov...le-hospitalized-were-overweight-or-obese.html

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

It’s not shocking but it’s also important to remember how archaic and broken the BMI scale is. Being defined as overweight (or even obese) doesn’t equal unhealthy in all cases.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

Perhaps if the whole "How would this pandemic have looked if we had no overweight or obese people?" wasn't there in it wouldn't come across like it does to me like we're downplaying the pandemic as as if it would be inconsequential (even more than some already think) if there were fewer patients who were considered obese or overweight.

Then again Europe and the rest of the world shows us this pandemic affects many people in many ways and it very much is affecting people and nations that don't have the same weight-related issue being discussed.

 

[Nabas]

This seems like a non-story.

Quoting from Wiki:

The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that, for 2015–2016 in the U.S., 39.8% of adults aged 20 and over were obese (including 7.6% with severe obesity) and that another 31.8% were overweight.​

So in 2015-16, 71.6% of Americans were overweight or obese.

The CDC reports that 78% of those who were hospitalized were overweight or obese. That's pretty close to 71.6%.

Adding fuel to this, the story states:

Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics.​

OK. The statistics from about 4 years ago say this number is 39.8%. So an increase of about 2% in 4 years. Not surprising.

Add 2% for more who are obese and 2% (just a guess) for more who are overweight, and we are at almost 76%.

So we have perhaps 75-76% of Americans who are overweight or obese and 78% of COVID hospitalizations were those who were overweight or obese.

Am I missing something or is the person who is reporting this story incapable of critical thought?

 

[GreatLakes]

How would this pandemic have looked if we had no overweight or obese people?

CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese.

KEY POINTS

• About 78% of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new study Monday.
• Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of 25 or more, while obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.
• “As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity,” the CDC wrote.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/cov...le-hospitalized-were-overweight-or-obese.html

Our generally unhealthy lifestyle has made this pandemic much worse than it could have been if we were an otherwise healthy population and I speak globally, not just the US. The planet has a weight problem and not just the visible weight that we carry but the visceral fat many people carry around their organs.

BMI is not a perfect measure individually but it is much more accurate when applied to a population. Yes, there are body builders and athletes that will come up as obese if you only apply BMI but if you are just a normal Joe that isn't you and it is the exception, not the rule.

There is no way around it, we are a fat and lazy society. Wall-E was not as far fetched as it may have first appeared.

 

[MamaMermaid]

And yet Krispy Kreme is giving out free donuts daily to those with vaccines...

 

[Nabas]

Our generally unhealthy lifestyle has made this pandemic much worse than it could have been if we were an otherwise healthy population and I speak globally, not just the US.

I suggest you read what I just posted above. Maybe I'm missing something but this seems like a non-story written to generate sensationalized headlines.

Let's also remember that metabolisms naturally slow down as people age. As a result, people tend to gain weight as they get older. There is an extremely high (and well-documented) correlation between age and the severity of COVID symptoms.

Once you factor in age, it seems like there's no correlation at all between weight and COVID hospitalizations.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Our generally unhealthy lifestyle has made this pandemic much worse than it could have been if we were an otherwise healthy population and I speak globally, not just the US. The planet has a weight problem and not just the visible weight that we carry but the visceral fat many people carry around their organs.

BMI is not a perfect measure individually but it is much more accurate when applied to a population. Yes, there are body builders and athletes that will come up as obese if you only apply BMI but if you are just a normal Joe that isn't you and it is the exception, not the rule.

There is no way around it, we are a fat and lazy society. Wall-E was not as far fetched as it may have first appeared.

No, it’s not the exception. BMI is a terrible measure of health

 

[rigs32]

In my late 20s, I was watching what I ate, not drinking, and exercising regularly. In no way did I think I was overweight, nor was there much weight left for me to lose in a healthy manner. BMI still said I was overweight. I was also cold all the time.

 

[Pink Partridge]

My daughter plays sports/lifts weights.

She is wears a size 4 pants. 5'3. 143lbs of muscle. No flab.

She is considered "overweight".

A size 4 teenager is overweight.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I can't think of a circumstance that would add to the % of overweight people more than what we have been put through in the last year. Stress, shut-down activities, parks closed, beaches closed, basketball hoops removed, skate parks filled with sand, even ALL outdoor exercise had been prohibited (UC Berkeley did this for a while). They don't call it the "COVID 20" for nothing.

 

[Pink Partridge]

In my late 20s, I was watching what I ate, not drinking, and exercising regularly. In no way did I think I was overweight, nor was there much weight left for me to lose in a healthy manner. BMI still said I was overweight. I was also cold all the time.

Yep. Sad, isn't it?

 

[jlwhitney]

I can't even count anymore how many times in the news about someone that died of Covid and being "young and healthy" then showing a picture and they very overweight/obese , those are the people that are at risk. They aren't healthy. I do get there is a small percentage of people that disorders (genetic and/or hormonal) that do put them at risk of obesity and make it insanely hard to lose weight. But the everyday very overweight person is likely not eating well or living a healthy lifestyle. I really do believe it really does put you at risk for the more severe cases, but what the threshold is I have no idea.

 

[monsterkitty]

My daughter plays sports/lifts weights.

She is wears a size 4 pants. 5'3. 143lbs of muscle. No flab.

She is considered "overweight".

A size 4 teenager is overweight.

I'm a triathlete. I train between 12-18 hours/week depending on where I am in the season. I'm 55 and the same size as your DD.

I'm overweight yet my doctor told me to not even think of losing weight.

 

[Pink Partridge]

I'm overweight yet my doctor told me to not even think of losing weight.

Absolutely not. I would never want her to lose another pound. She would not look healthy.

 

[tzolkin]

This seems like a non-story.

Quoting from Wiki:

The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that, for 2015–2016 in the U.S., 39.8% of adults aged 20 and over were obese (including 7.6% with severe obesity) and that another 31.8% were overweight.​

So in 2015-16, 71.6% of Americans were overweight or obese.

The CDC reports that 78% of those who were hospitalized were overweight or obese. That's pretty close to 71.6%.

Adding fuel to this, the story states:

Just over 42% of the U.S. population was considered obese in 2018, according to the agency’s most recent statistics.​

OK. The statistics from about 4 years ago say this number is 39.8%. So an increase of about 2% in 4 years. Not surprising.

Add 2% for more who are obese and 2% (just a guess) for more who are overweight, and we are at almost 76%.

So we have perhaps 75-76% of Americans who are overweight or obese and 78% of COVID hospitalizations were those who were overweight or obese.

Am I missing something or is the person who is reporting this story incapable of critical thought?

Yup. My first thought reading the headline— isn’t about 75% of the population considered overweight (based on BMI)? So it would make sense that about 75% of adults being hospitalized for Covid would be overweight.

The way this is being presented would be like saying 99% of the COVID hospitalizations in Nigeria were black individuals so therefore race plays a role. Being black is not a risk factor; it’s just the relative proportion of their population.

 

[JimMIA]

And yet Krispy Kreme is giving out free donuts daily to those with vaccines...

I'm waiting until DW gets dose #2 and DD gets both. THEN, we will go to KK and collect our prizes!

(Which I will eat, because they don't like donuts!)

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I wish I could say I was overweight because of all my muscle.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Not good news for me. Thanks to medication I take, I balloon out like crazy and am basically rotund. I'll feel safer after the jab, but basically my best chance is to exercise and diet more.

 

[rwdavis2]

I think part of it is that obesity can cause several co-mobidities such as high blood pressure and diabetes which are also identified as Covid risks. Obesity is not a health problem until is and causes the other problems.