‘Obesity a major risk factor of lockdown’

Obesity is emerging as a major risk factor because of the coronavirus lockdown, a top Indian gastroenterologist has said.

“It is not just the virus you should be afraid of, but eating, lifestyle and conditions imposed by confinement also matters. For, obesity is a real risk that increases comorbidity deaths due to coronavirus,” Dr K.J. Kiran, Consultant, Apollo Hospitals, Department of General Laparoscopy, Surgical Gastroenterology & Bariatric Surgery, said in a statement. The current lockdown is a dangerous environment for the breeding of various habits that contribute to obesity, he said.

That obesity can be fatal in Covid-19 cases has been established in recent research undertaken around the world on coronavirus. One of the largest studies in the US, which has registered the high rate of deaths, especially in New York state, has found that obesity was the biggest factor in fatalities due to old age-related complications. The large sample study by the New York-based NYU Grossman School of Medicine, found that the obese patients were substantially at higher odds of death due to Covid-19 than any cardiovascular or pulmonary disease.

“During this kind of forced confinement, people tend to over-eat or consume unbalanced food, leading to obesity and lifestyle diseases,” said Dr Kiran. Obesity results in heightened inflammation in patients and in severe Covid-19 cases, it worsens the condition of the patient.

According to Dr Kiran, “anything you can do to improve your health while in lockdown will pay rich returns in the long run.” UNICEF in its ‘ideas to help your family maintain a nutritious diet’ guidelines says that one should keep up fruit and vegetable intake, opt for healthier snacks like nuts, cheese, yoghurt (preferably unsweetened), chopped or dried fruits, boiled eggs, or other locally available healthy options, and limit intake of highly processed foods.

According to the World Health Organization, more people are dying from being overweight than underweight. Younger people who are obese are at high risk. Obesity is a growing problem worldwide and our complacent response to the current situation contributes to obesity in many ways. The number of people considered obese has nearly tripled since 1975, and with obesity comes a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure (hypertension) and stroke, among other health problems.

COMMENT NOW