Being overweight is a underlying condition

[Oakmaiden]

I had totally missed this.

If you have a BMI above 40 then you are considered to be at high risk and should self isolate for 12 weeks.

Anyone know why?

That is obese, not overweight.

And obviously it is because if you are obese you are more likely to have a multitude of underlying health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure.

I think at the moment this is one of the things that puts you in the lower of the high risk groups so you are strongly advised to implement the social distancing.
This advice might change by the weekend though.

@HouseElfy - that was my guess too - that if you are obese you are more likely to have undiagnosed diabetes or hypertension.

My husband asked me if I had any idea why, and I could only guess the answer, so thought I would ask.

Bmi over 40 is morbidly obese. The clue is in the name- morbidly- meaning you’re at a higher risk of dying. Your heart and kings are already under enormous pressure with the extra weight and so adding a respiratory virus into this mix is risky. Hence the high risk category.

Because that is very overweight. You're obese with a BMI of 30, a BMI of 40 makes you morbidly obese and increases your risk of a wide range of serious health conditions.

Kings- lungs. Obviously!

Anyone with bmi over 40 is eligible for the flu as morbid obesity on its own puts your immune system under pressure. I say this as someone in this category.

*eligible for flu JAB

The cynic in me thinks it is because those in at risk groups will be the ones refused treatment when icu beds reach capacity.
We will only be given palliative care.
A bmi over 40 probably puts you in the bariatric range meaning slightly different equipment and treatment is needed, which there is less of and uses more resources.
I have a high bmi before I get flamed. I am trying to be healthy and lose weight to give myself the best chance.

It’s not just overweight, not even just obese.

Let’s not be too rude here, BMI is a crude tool for weight.
I wear size 18 clothes and have no underlying health conditions, perfect bloods, perfect blood pressure, no diabetes, yet I’m in the at risk catergory.

I suspect many people are without realising it if they’ve never calculated their bmi, just because it’s described as morbidly obese conjure up visions of people so big they struggle to walk, can’t sit in a normal chair etc.....that’s definately not always the case!

You only have to look at the pictures that show women at the same weight but who look very different to understand how crude a meansurement bmi is.

See picture, all are 11st.

My BMI is 43.5, and so far I have been lucky (?) not to have any weight related complications like diabetes, high blood pressure etc. But I suppose your body is generally under more strain - I know it takes me 45 mins to jog 5k vs someone fitter doing it in half an hour, and I do naturally get out of breath faster when climbing stairs etc, just due to the extra weight I'm carrying.

It has certainly frightened me into trying to take some action before it's too late :(

There's no need to fat shame people here ! People are asking nicely

Are they being advised to self isolate? Or are they being advised to practice social distancing?

My BMI is 42, I have no diabetes, hypertension etc .

However - I was anaesthetised six months ago for an hour at 146kg . I felt absolutely horrendous after, very dizzy, couldn’t catch my breath easily in recovery and took two or three weeks before I felt normal . I am 99% sure that was caused by my weight .

I am making every effort currently to cut down on unnecessary meals - eating only when hungry - and do exercise in the garden to increase my fitness and lose weight . I’ve lost 26lb since Christmas, I now weigh 134kg and am aiming with the best will in the world to get it down even further .

I’m a size 18, I have no health conditions at all. Yet my bmi is over 40 so I’m at risk apparently. I’ve been losing weight since the new year but still have a way to go. I can’t self isolate for 12 weeks just because I’m a size 18 though. It wouldn’t be possible for me to anyway

Even the shortest on that Daily Mail cut and paste pic is still ‘only’ a BMI of 30, @makingmiracles. A BMI of 40+ is visibly large. At 5ft the shortest woman in the picture would have be another 3.5 stone ish heavier to have a BMI of 40. That’s another 31% of her body weight. Significantly more.

makingmiracles

Yeah but the people in that picture would have different bmis because bmi obviously takes height into account

*have to be

People with a BMI over 40 are more likely to have irregular heartbeats (AF). Your heart rate seems normal or even low (40-70 bpm) but if you check it across the day it will go much lower and higher. AF can be an early sign of heart failure and a whole heap of CVD which is why it’s a risk factor. Also undiagnosed diabetes. Also if you are a pregnant woman you are far more likely to have high blood pressure / gestational diabetes etc at BMI 40. I imagine the pregnant women who have been infected and had complications thus far have been obese

my understanding is that with high levels of body fat especially high levels of intra-abdominal body fat there tend to be high levels of general inflammation in the body and this makes the lungs much more vulnerable
Somewhat tangential but I found this article about why children's lungs are much less vulnerable to be quite interesting
www.wired.com/story/kids-can-get-covid-19-they-just-dont-get-that-sick/

Atrial fibrillation is not a heart rate that varies over the day from low to high.