On COVID, Obesity & the U.S. Military
Last month, more research was released addressing the growing obesity problem in the United States.
A study of 791 patients with Covid-19, led by Dr. Ana Mostaghim from Boston Medical Center (Dec. 16, 2020) said:
"Though definitive reasons for poor Covid-19 outcomes in obesity remain uncertain, patients with obesity are uniquely vulnerable.
"Patients with obesity may have independent risk factors for poor outcomes in Covid-19 (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease) – conditions that are inflammatory and immune-mediated. Furthermore, obesity is associated with decreased functional residual capacity of the lungs.
"Patients with obesity were more likely to have poor outcomes even without increased inflammation."
Separately, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Dec. 2020) noted that obesity in the U.S. continues to increase and estimated that 42.5% of U.S. adults aged 20 and over have obesity, including 9.0% with severe obesity, and another 31.1% are overweight.
U.S. Adult ObesityTrends: 1960- 2018
Finally, “Obesity in the United States and Effects on Military Recruiting” (Congressional Research Service Dec. 22, 2020) included:
“The percentage of military-age adults ineligible for enlistment because of excessive body fat more than doubled for men and tripled for women during 1959-2008. Since 2008, the percentage of obese youth has continued to increase. The increasing proportion of obese American youth reduces the pool of eligible military recruits.
"High weight and body fat and lower job performance ... [is] costing the military over $1.2 billion annually in higher healthcare spending and lower productivity.
"Obesity is seen as a preventable disease … interventions to improve nutrition and fitness in youth may increase fitness to serve in the military."
OUR TAKE
More research will likely strengthen the link between COVID-19 risk in high obesity countries such as the US while reinforcing the view of less COVID hospitalization risk in lower-obesity countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The U.S. military's challenge is one example of obesity's impact on communities, businesses, healthcare systems and more.
As COVID-19 mitigation efforts continue, obesity remains a major global health concern.
2021: let's start reversing the obesity growth trend.