Slightly or slightly overweight people have the lowest risk of COVID-19: CDC

• The CDC has found that people who are obese or severely underweight have the highest risk of COVID-19.
• A BMI on the cusp of being overweight was linked to the lower risk of death, hospitalization or intensive care.
• BMI is an imperfect measure of health, but it is a tool to protect those at risk for obesity or underweight.
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Nearly or slightly overweight people may be the least at risk of serious complications from COVID-19, according to a new report.

While obesity has long been considered a risk factor for complications from COVID-19, a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that people with slightly larger body mass than defined as “Normal” may have a lower risk. death and serious illness.

BMI classifies anything over 24.9 as overweight.

CDC researchers studied data from 148,494 U.S. adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from March to December 2020. They found that people who were overweight or just on the verge of being overweight – with a BMI between 23.7 and 25 , 9 – were the least likely to be hospitalized. , require intensive care or die from COVID-19, after taking age into account.

Based on previous evidence, people who are obese and people with a lower than normal BMI, such as 18.5 or less, had a much higher risk of complications from COVID-19.

These results suggest that the relationship between COVID-19 and body weight is not straightforward, and more nuanced studies like this one are crucial in assessing individual coronavirus risk.

BMI is an imperfect measure of health

BMI is a measure of body weight over height (you can calculate yours on the CDC website). Although it is often used to assess the risk of chronic disease, a person can have a higher BMI and be perfectly healthy.

“On an individual level, BMI may not be a perfect indicator of a person’s health risk. It is one of the many measures that we need to assess for health risks,” he said. said Dr. W. Scott Butsch, director of obesity medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Inside the business community.

That’s because BMI doesn’t take into account body composition (the muscle-to-fat ratio), or where body fat is distributed. Both of these factors can be important for health and for the risk of conditions such as metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and

Diabetes
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BMI was created in the 19th century and based on standards for white Europeans at that time, so it may not be accurate in assessing the health of different demographics, including people of different races.

Despite its limitations, a higher BMI is a good reason to get the vaccine

While a higher BMI does not guarantee health problems, there is good evidence that obese people are at a higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

For this reason, obesity is considered a qualifying condition for early access to a vaccine in many states.

It can also complicate a person’s relationship with the medical industry, as the stigma of weight is rife, leading people to feel ashamed and marginalized for obesity, even by some doctors.

This can discourage people from getting vaccinated if they are obese.

However, despite the nuanced relationship between weight and health, it’s best to sign up for this vaccine if you are able to protect yourself and the community, experts previously told Insider’s Anna Miller.

“If you can avoid contracting COVID, you can save yourself from having to endure not only serious illness and residual complications, but also weight-biased medical care that could potentially worsen your results,” Christy Harrison, Registered Dietitian anti-diet that hosts the Food Psych podcast, previously told Insider.