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

But this healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight isn't a new thing, is it. You can't blame food chains and fast food and junk food - if the demand wasn't there, the supply wouldn't be.

Of course some people for medical reasons struggle to lose weight. Some gain weight through medical treatment. But, the vast majority of overweight people eat too much, too often. I was one of them. A lot of people, not necessarily on this thread, but on others and elsewhere, want to blame someone else. There are groups of society that are more susceptible to poor outcomes from Covid 19. BAME, Male, Older People and Obese. The first three of those can't be changed, but the last category can.

A lot of people try to twist the research, the data, etc., because they're scared and I get that. We are all scared. The onus is on the individual to lose weight if they choose to, and if medically they are able to. The diet industry makes a fortune peddling diets that allow you to eat unlimited this and that, but they also rely on people regaining the weight and rejoining their schemes. No one needs a diet book - they just need to increase the healthy foods, decrease or cut out the bad, eat less and move more. But no one can do it for them, they have to do it for themselves.

Alex, good slogan.
Sophie, I agree.

@Xenia would you deny your children and grandchildren treatment if they were overweight? Or would you want the NHS to save them??

Eat lots of fruit and veg, lean meat, not to much bread, pasta, potatoes. A treat now and then, the odd biscuit, cake, glass of wine, walk at least an hour a day and do some yoga, Pilates and you will never be fat. It’s funny how people who are over weight now are worried but not before when it adds to heart, blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, which are all just as bad as coronvirus.

I have never hated anyone

You certainly act like you do.

Smilethoyourheartisbreaking

You've no idea of the size- past, present or future, of the people posting. Nor their experiences of it. Nor their families.

It’s funny how people who are over weight now are worried but not before when it adds to heart, blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, which are all just as bad as coronvirus.

Yeah hilarious, I’m pissing myself here at the prospect of leaving my children without a mother when they’re only young.

And how do you know what people are and aren’t worried about?

No doubt if there’s a vaccine and if obese people are amongst the earliest to get it people will moan about that too

Actually if you are trying to but food on the go ( perhaps on a journey or short break at work ) it’s very VERY hard to get food that isn’t heavily carb based.

I agree with this, also being gluten intolerant (it just has some nasty effects on me, nothing really allergic). Finding something to eat in a hurry or when on the go is very difficult.
Add to this my capacity for hypos, and it can be somewhat dangerous. I eat a lot of cherry tomatoes.
No doubt someone will now appear to tell me why they're an absolute poison.

Probably the same people that bitch about the cost of obesity to the NHS but then object to the NHS providing weight loss surgery.

How would an employer offer the chance to WFH to obese employees? They can hardly say “You’re fat, best stay where you are”?

Most obese people own a mirror and do actually know they’re fat. I’m not relishing the “I’m high BMI so I think I should keep wfh” conversation with my boss but I value my life and health more than I care about embarrassment so I’ll do it

I was. Sorry been off the thread a couple of days and catching up. Maybe I am not making any sense - tired 😑

Had a bold fail in my previous post, I was quoting someone from earlier in the thread

Probably the same people that bitch about the cost of obesity to the NHS but then object to the NHS providing weight loss surgery

I think it's probably the assumption that some people are still waiting for other people to solve their problem for them that irks.

I know that there are a number of factors that can contribute to obesity but, the bottom line is, that most people who are very overweight are so because they eat too much of the wrong food.

My ex husband is obese and has T2 diabetes. He knows what he can do to reverse it but he quite likes drinking coke and eating crisp sandwiches, followed by a big bar of chocolate of an evening, so he won't do anything about it. He does moan an awful lot about his weight/diabetes though.

I, on the other hand, when my BMI hit 30 a couple of years ago, though, "fuck me! I need to do something about that!" And changed my diet.

I'm more than happy for high risk groups - whoever they are - to be first in line for a vaccine and I think that people who can continue to work from home should be able to if they are in a high risk group.

@helenadove

HeIenaDove Wed 06-May-20 00:02:56
Re, obesity
(I posted this on another thread but the points should be made here too)
I believe the reason some health workers are overweight is due to not having proper breaks to eat proper food (even worse at the moment i bet) and often only have time to grab snack food on the run. Which in a lot of cases will be junk food and intermittent eating will bugger up the metabolism

Picture this in a care home "No sorry Mrs Smith You will have to sit in your own piss cos its my lunch break now and i need the time to cook and eat proper food.

Imagine the outcry from media outlets and the AIBU on MN.

So what should overweight health workers and overweight care workers do? Should they down tools and isolate/shield.

Or walk off the ward and go and find something healthy to eat no matter how busy it is?

Its also worth mentioning that care home workers are some of the lowest paid in the country.
.....

Can't staff make themselves packed lunches?

I put on a lot of weight doing shift work. It's not just about packing a healthy lunch in my opinion, it's the quick hit of energy you need at 1am, the carbs your body craves after a night shift, the resisting of cakes that people seem to always bring in, the tiredness on your days off meaning you don't feel like cooking from scratch. Not just exclusive to shift work, but lack of energy from being sleepy also didn't really inspire me to work out. That said, I did work with people who ate very balanced meals on and off shift- usually through meal prepping which saved quite a bit of time, took advantage of days off by doing something active, so it can be done; it's just harder than during a 9-5 for me at least, and I imagine others. I was on my feet for 12 hours as well, I think there was a subconscious element of oh I can eat what I want and I am surely burning it off. Once I started a regular shift pattern I lost weight fairly easily, it's amazing how differently people treat you though both overweight and when you lose it to reach a healthier weight.

*I think it's probably the assumption that some people are still waiting for other people to solve their problem for them that irks.

I know that there are a number of factors that can contribute to obesity but, the bottom line is, that most people who are very overweight are so because they eat too much of the wrong food.*

Some people might be like that but obesity for many is something that happens over decades it doesn’t get resolved overnight.

I’ve been trying really hard to watch my food intake and have increased my exercise to try and make me not obese. But it’s going to take me years to become a healthy weight even if I have no slip ups (unlikely).

Most obese people own a mirror and do actually know they’re fat. I’m not relishing the “I’m high BMI so I think I should keep wfh” conversation with my boss but I value my life and health more than I care about embarrassment so I’ll do it.

I hope your boss is understanding. I have a colleague who stated right at the start of all this that their BMI was 44 which put them at greater risk than those colleagues with lower BMIs and that they should be able to wfh. They were wfh long before the majority of the department (I have not been wfh) and it seemed like a sensible decision to me. As would them receiving a vaccine before me if they were deemed to require one due to their BMI. It is a risk factor as are many other things, a value judgement shouldn't be attached as to why someone is currently at risk - the fact just is that they are and if something can be done to ensure they are kept as safe as possible it's common sense that it is.

@Sandybval really hard for shift workers. The energy you need to stay awake all night . Not sure if there is an answer ?

@SudokuBook

But it’s going to take me years to become a healthy weight even if I have no slip ups (unlikely)

Why do you think it will take you years ? People who are very overweight usually lose weight very quickly at first, once they eat suitably. Have you thought of trying something like the Fast 800?

You could lose a lot of weight in a safe and healthy way and keep it off but it would take a sustained lifestyle change.

It’s easy to gain weight by eating an extra biscuit a day and taking the lift at work rather than the stairs. But trying to do the reverse probably isn’t enough to lose a significant amount of weight.