Fat people even more likely to be affected by COVID than previously thought

[pocketem]

UK government scientists are urgently investigating whether people living with obesity may be disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, after emerging data from intensive care units suggested a stronger link than previously thought.

New data from the UK’s Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre, which has been presented to ministers and SAGE scientists, has found that the proportion of severely obese patients in ICUs is twice the proportion in the general population.

Ministers have become increasingly alarmed by data coming out of Britain’s intensive care units, with some members of the government suggesting obesity may end up being a factor in the UK’s higher death toll.

The UK is currently projected to have the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe. Around 1 in 4 UK adults are obese. In 2018, the WHO found that the UK had the third highest obesity rate in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey.

More here:
www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/alexwickham/uk-scientists-coronavirus-obesity-link

If you actually look at the graph it seems that more deaths would be avoided if everyone with a BMI under 25 put a bit of weight on...

...seems weird that everyone is focusing on the over 40 BMI when the outcome for people in the healthy and underweight categories looks worse...

Being overweight has a very strong correlation with poverty.
And anyone who thinks struggling with the stress of poverty is the same as the stress of a job hasn't a fucking clue.

Overweight people less likely to get outside
Hence low vitamin d level
Difficult to distinguish between low Vit d being an issue and the multiple other health related vulnerabilities relating to obesity at this early stage.

Either way - it is totally baffling to me to be seriously overweight. Other than the very brief money of delight as excessive food is consumed, the downsides on every front from quality of life to health to how your children view you... are overwhelming

People talk about motivation issues but the list is endless!

I hadn't been "living with obesity." I was just bring greedy and lazy.

It takes only a handful of posts on a thread like this before people start making fucking judgemental comments.

I don't mind factual discussion, but the rest of you can fuck off.

Who was I judging? Myself, clearly.

* Being overweight has a very strong correlation with poverty.*

So many health issues are related to poverty but not surprising. Many in poverty are poorly educated combined with instant gratification approach because little incentive to think long term when little to be positive about. A toxic combination that means more likely to smoke, drink, overeat

Sod is baffled as to why people might be overweight. Many of us are equally baffled as to why she/he hasn't read the thread before commenting. If they had they'd soon see the varied reasons, from poverty to health issues.

Actually now it appears smokers have a better outcome (in some reports) than non smokers

I think the tentative suggestion is that smokers are less likely to catch the virus. Their outcomes if infected are worse than non smokers.

@Oakmaiden but she was posting about her experience, or is that not allowed? It's a bit like the FF Vs BF threads, only certain opinions are allowed. It's not really helpful.

You're certainly right about the instant gratification approach Sod...if referring to government policy. We've had decades of governments taking that approach - Labour and Conservative. We can but hope we have a government that will finally see the benefit of thinking long-term. Unlikely perhaps, desirable definitely.

Interested in your views on someone who has the education but not the money to eat well? Because life circumstances.

Yes its interesting about smokers! I think they are trialling nicotine patches in France?

So are we going to say being obese could be a factor in Covid deaths? Or is that victim blaming so we have to swerve it?

This is refreshing
"CallmeAngelina Sat 02-May-20 10:50:21
"Living with obesity?"
Is that what it's called now?
I have struggled with my weight all my life, although I'm am now in the "healthy" band after a major health kick three years ago where I upped my exercise, lowered my food intake, reduced alcohol consumption and lost 3 and a half stone.
I hadn't been "living with obesity." I was just bring greedy and lazy.
Health officials have been warning us for years that we are sitting on a time bomb, health-wise, if we're overweight. And here we are! Surely it's no massive surprise?"

Well done. I think we are too accepting of very fat and make up all sorts of excuses. I am overweight and it's my fault. I love food and I don't move enough. I can shame myself but perhaps since it is so acceptable now I haven't focused on it enough..... even my partner thins I am not fat..... I really am. Not sure what the answer is. Covid-19 threat a kick up the backside to lose weight

I'm very fat - BMI just under 40. I've spent years trying to lose weight, and sometimes I have succeeded but the weight has always gone back on. Being fat is unhealthy, just on its own - it's associated with poor outcomes for lots of conditions so it's not really a surprise that it's also associated with poor outcomes for Covid-19. And fat people do want to eat, for all sorts of reasons, whether because they have dysfunctional hormones that can't tell them if they're full or not or if they have emotional problems that they treat with food rather than with therapy and exercise.

What's working for me now, after years of struggling, is:

• Portion control and eating at mealtimes only. All diets want to tell you that there's something you can eat as much as you like without gaining weight (although it's never something you'd want to eat - cf Slimming World and Quark). This does not work for me. It's not actually normal to be chomping on anything all the time. What has really worked for me is eating pretty much what I like, but as part of a balanced meal. I bought an Eat Well plate and I measure everything I eat. We cook mostly from scratch and rarely have takeaways now, but if I'm having (say) fish and chips, I have as much fish as fits in the protein section, as many chips as fit in the starch section (it's not many ) and the other half of the plate is full of healthy greens. If we have a takeaway curry, a portion of curry will go in the protein section, a portion of rice or bread in the carb section, and greens or salad on the rest of the plate. In between meals I will only have fruit or veg. Plus at least one huge glass of water with each meal. The result of this is that I am eating nearly half as much as I previously ate, and it is a million times easier and more satisfying than counting Syns, or Points, or carbs, or calories.

• banishing trigger foods. I realised that I don't have an "off" button once I start eating trigger foods, so I just don't touch them. No chocolate, no cake, no added sugar. It's not as hard as you'd think.

• exercise. Anything at all, even just going for a walk. One of the things I find frustrating about lockdown is that I'd incorporated lots of exercise into my day by ditching lifts, taking the stairs, walking distances I'd usually train or bus. But still - exercise.

• therapy. Not for everyone, maybe, but for me eating is tied up with all sorts of poor coping mechanisms for lifelong anxiety. Without therapy I would never have understood why I felt the need to eat so much, or learned to value myself enough to take manageable steps to control my eating.

So yes, being fat isn't healthy, and yes, there are things that obese people can do to help themselves. Someone above said that most fat people will have made far more effort to eat healthily and lose weight than people who aren't fat to start with, and that's true. But those steps are not easy, particularly when you take into account how hard it is to stop once you've started, how mixed the messages are around eating and what constitutes a healthy diet, and the huge levels of hatred and contempt for people who are fat in our society. I see a number of people on this thread who are blatantly looking for confirmation that fat people are lazy and greedy. I don't think that is fair, but more to the point, it won't help. All of the evidence shows that people are much better at taking care of themselves when they feel happy and positive about themselves, than when they hate themselves and think that they are worthless. The best way to help fat people to lose weight is to help them to love and value themselves, and to help them adopt healthy habits one by one that will help them to reach a healthier weight.

So are we going to say being obese could be a factor in Covid deaths? Or is that victim blaming so we have to swerve it?

Identifying and obesity as a risk factor is important.

Judging how people became obese when the poster didn’t and making assumptions without consideration of different genes/childhood nutrition/access to affordable healthy food/medical issues etc not really helpful and a bit rude.

. Many in poverty are poorly educated

Ah so continuing to fly to Italy on ski trips AFTER the fact was done by the educated...............lol

* Sod send them to the workhouse. That'll teach em. Gruel 2x a day. If they have been good*

Well at least they’d lose weight and get some exercise then

Well, if we are going to identify obesity as a risk factor then people are going to have ideas about how to tackle it!

@helena are you seriously questioning the assertion that many in poverty are poorly educated?

Many in poverty are poorly educated

I think that is widely accepted to be true?

Depends what you are defining as poorly educated. Anyone who has a good memory and can memorize facts can pass an exam.

Education and critical thinking dont always go together as this thread clearly demonstrates.