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Obesity a driving factor in COVID-19 deaths, global report finds

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Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/03/04/obesity_1.jpg"/><figcaption>An obese patient speaks with a surgeon to prepare for surgery at the Saint Jean d&#x27;Angely Hospital, in Saint Jean d&#x27;Angley, southwestern France, January 24, 2013. <em>Regis Duvignau, Reuters/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>LONDON - The majority of global COVID-19 deaths have been in countries where many people are obese, with coronavirus fatality rates 10 times higher in nations where at least 50 percent of adults are overweight, a global study found on Thursday.</p><p>The report, which described a &quot;dramatic&quot; correlation between countries&#x27; COVID-19 death and obesity rates, found that 90 percent or 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from the pandemic disease so far were in countries with high levels of obesity.</p><p>The study analyzed the COVID-19 death figures from Johns Hopkins University in the United States and the World Health Organization&#x27;s Global Health Observatory data on obesity.</p><p>Strikingly, the authors said, there is no example of a country where people are generally not overweight or obese having high COVID-19 death rates.</p><p>&quot;Look at countries like Japan and South Korea, where they have very low levels of COVID-19 deaths as well as very low levels of adult obesity,&quot; said Tim Lobstein, an expert advisor to the World Obesity Federation and visiting professor at Australia&#x27;s Sydney University who co-led the report.</p><p>&quot;They have prioritized public health across a range of measures, including population weight, and it has paid off in the pandemic.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/09/10/20/obesity-greatest-risk-factor-for-young-adults-with-covid-19">READ: Obesity greatest risk factor for young adults with COVID-19</a></li></ul><p>By contrast, the report found that in the United States and Britain, for example, both COVID-19 death rates and obesity levels were among the highest.</p><p>The United Kingdom has the world&#x27;s third-highest coronavirus death rate and the fourth-highest obesity rate - 184 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and 63.7 percent of adults overweight, according to WHO data - followed by the United States, with 152.49 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and 67.9 percent of adults overweight.</p><p>John Wilding, a professor of medicine at Britain&#x27;s University of Liverpool and president of the World Obesity Federation, said obesity should be recognized as a key COVID-19 health risk and taken into account in vaccination plans.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s really important that we recognize that obesity … increases the risk,&quot; he said in a statement about the report&#x27;s findings. &quot;Therefore, like other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, people with obesity should be considered for early priority in vaccination programs across the world.&quot;</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9z_KkL6BLcI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>LONDON - The majority of global COVID-19 deaths have been in countries where many people are obese, with coronavirus fatality rates 10 times higher in nations where at least 50 percent of adults are overweight, a global study found on Thursday.</p>

LONDON - The majority of global COVID-19 deaths have been in countries where many people are obese, with coronavirus fatality rates 10 times higher in nations where at least 50 percent of adults are overweight, a global study found on Thursday.