Talking about weight and covid

[Iamsososoexcited]

In the 44-53 age group, 73% of people in the UK are overweight to obese. This is a government statistic according to the House of Commons library.

Does anyone else think this is massively concerning?

This awful virus arrived a year ago. It has a disproportionate effect on people who are overweight and obese.

People are washing hands, wearing masks, keeping their distance, isolating with families to stay safe. Why aren’t people losing weight to stay safe as well?

I don’t understand. It is like being told there is a course of action you can take (losing weight) that will drastically improve your chances of surviving this terrible virus, and yet people are not doing it?

Please help me understand?

I was 1.5 stone too heavy this time last year. And I lost it. Took 6 months. It was hard work. I am late 40s.

do 20k steps a day, count the calories and use extreme will power.

What's your excuse for not doing that?

IMO, you have to really want it to do it.

@Seriouslymole

OP - you are not being unreasonable at all, but you will be, and have been, told you are. There is a massive correlation between serious effects of Covid and obesity. However, no one is brave enough in the government to say “fuck lockdown, actually we need to tackle the massive public health crisis on our doorstep and encourage people to lose weight, eat the right stuff, exercise if you can, drink less, stop smoking” because apparently it is everyone’s inalienable right to do what they to their own bodies. So because they are not brave enough to tackle that, we all lockdown, wear masks, wash our hands and fool ourselves into thinking it will make a difference. It won’t.

This.

I am not sure why pointing out that if people were a normal weight it would improve their overall health is so offensive to people. No one is saying that losing weight is easy, but pretending that obesity is fine is negligence. If we wring our hands at the NHS being overwhelmed, then I think we have the right to look at risk factors for hospitalisation, including obesity, smoking etc...

And people cannot really believe that every single person in the UK who is overweight or obese has mental health issues?

I straight up told my dad that he needed to lose weight.

He's naturally built like a tank, always has been, we're all strongly built, but he's ballooned over lockdown and frankly he needs to put down the bloody mayo jar and get out for more walks.

It was clear to me from early on that most of the younger ones dying were carrying significant weight (apart from the stories you hear about the unusually super fit ones - but sometimes people who are really unusually fit, but not in the first flush of youth, can have funny reactions to things, can't they)

Might be harsh, but I bloody love my dad he's my mate, I'd rather have him offended than dead

I am not sure why pointing out that if people were a normal weight it would improve their overall health is so offensive to people. No one is saying that losing weight is easy, but pretending that obesity is fine is negligence.

But why do you need to point it out? Do you actually think that obese people don't already know this?

Because every day I wake up and think 'Today I'll be sensible, I'm going to lose weight.' And then I'm faced with a decision about food, and I eat whatever is quick and easy and tasty. Chocolate and cheese feature heavily. I don't know why I do it, and it I could stop myself I would. Sometimes I do, for a while, but it never lasts.

I was also shocked into losing weight in lockdown 1 and it was almost all through diet alone with only exercise about 10 steps 2-3 times p/week.

Once I understood WHY obesity is a risk, it was easy to limit carbs and sugar. My friend is pre-diabetic so we have tried to brainstorm it together, he also lost weight and his blood sugar has come down.

High blood glucose fuels the cytokine storm in covid, eg article here but there are more too:

High-blood-sugar-levels-linked-to-covid-19-deaths-in-those-WITHOUT-diabetes.html

www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/dec/high-blood-sugar-levels-linked-to-covid-19-deaths-in-those-without-diabetes.html

@AlexaShutUp so we shouldn't do anything about it at all? Just let the population get unhealthier? There may be people who don't realise that some lifestyle changes will make a huge difference to their risk factors for illnesses such as Covid. I'm really not sure that is necessarily general knowledge.

I have an extremely overweight friend who is paranoid about Covid. I really think if a GP said to her 'you're x percent more likely to have a serious outcome at your weight' it would be the kickstart she needed to improve her health. Maybe I'm naive...

Being fat doesn’t make you illiterate - we all know weight is linked to covid problems. The problem isn't that she’s pointed the link out, It’s the way she plays dumb about not understanding why people are fat and haven’t lost weight, despite many of the reasons being detailed on this thread.

I’ve applied the OP’s breathtaking lack of empathy and her simple thinking to everyone’s problems. From now on, nobody will have any problems because I’ve thought of all the solutions:

1. not enough money - just get a good job
2. house messy - tidy up
3. your parent died - never mind, everyone’s parents die so just forget about it
4. child getting bullied - just email school, all sorted
5. alcohol problems - don’t drink anymore
6. can’t get a GP appointment - just go private
7. mental health problems - pull yourself together
8. child struggling at school - just tell them to work harder
9. bad relationship - just get a divorce
10. not enough space - just get a bigger house
11. Too much to do - hire help

There we go. Loads of boards can be deleted from MN. No need for relationships, mental health, education.

I have an extremely overweight friend who is paranoid about Covid. I really think if a GP said to her 'you're x percent more likely to have a serious outcome at your weight' it would be the kickstart she needed to improve her health. Maybe I'm naive...

Yes, I think you're being very naive imo. She already knows. The GP would not be telling her anything new. It's highly likely that it's because she knows it that she is so paranoid.

I do understand why people who do not have disordered thinking probably wonder why someone in this situation do not lose weight, but the reality is complicated. For all you know, she might already be trying to lose weight - if she has a lot to lose, she could lose several stone before anyone would actually notice.

@Iamsososoexcited

Thanks *@tatutata*. I am pretty sure in none of my posts have I been rude, or aggressive at anyone. Yet the vitriol aimed at me for asking why people will wash they hands but not watch what they eat, is incredible.

How do you know none of them do watch what they eat?

Article from the BMJ - having a BMI of 35 - 40 increases chances of dying by 40%. Over 40 and it increases by 90%

I hadn't realised it was that much
As you say, a increase on a small risk is still a small risk, but in the context of the widespead panic about Covid I'd have thought more would be concerned rather than just handing out the usual "f*ck off"

And FWIW I've lost just over 3 stones this year. True it was neither easy nor straightforward, but it seemed worth doing - after all if I'm not going to look after my health who is?

Article from the BMJ - having a BMI of 35 - 40 increases chances of dying by 40%. Over 40 and it increases by 90%

That is high. Does it mention BMI say 25 to 35

if I'm not going to look after my health who is?

Sadly a lot of people expect everyone else to give up everything worth living for to do just this....

I don't have any medical knowledge and I'm not dismissing the seriousness of that BMJ statistic, but weight can't be the whole story can it, given that men are more affected by Covid-19 than women, and women hold more fat on their bodies than men? Does anyone have any info?

@ekidmxcl

OP I hope that you realise that your judgemental thread will have added to people’s misery. Perhaps you understand that cumulative misery does often lead to comfort eating. The manner in which you have asked the question really lacks empathy.

How can stating the facts be adding to people's misery? Next you'll be telling me that words are violence.

If you are fat, then own it. I do. I think it's my job to make myself as fit and as healthy as I can so that if I catch Covid at work where every single one of the patients has Covid (and we sometimes lose as many in a day as we previously did in a week only to replace them with more dying Covid patients the same day) and most of the staff have had it or a currently off with it, that I can recover as quickly as possible with as few effects on my body as possible. The world needs to be more honest with itself. If you are fat and unfit and do very little movement during the course of your day, you are settling yourself up for some serious health challenges. I've seen with my own eyes (this morning even) people who could have lived another 30+ years dying because they didn't take good care of the body they had.

@Hampotsandonions

I don't have any medical knowledge and I'm not dismissing the seriousness of that BMJ statistic, but weight can't be the whole story can it, given that men are more affected by Covid-19 than women, and women hold more fat on their bodies than men? Does anyone have any info?

This is the article, I think

Oops, pressed send too soon sorry.

Here is the article: www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4130

It says 'Two things happen when obesity occurs: the amount of fat increases, but also you put fat in the wrong places. You put it in the liver and in skeletal muscle. And that disturbs metabolism. The key disturbance is that you get very high levels of insulin in the blood.”
Perhaps women lay down fat in less dangerous places than men?

Blimey OP! You r so so ignorant and insulting!!

I was so obsessed with trying to lose weight (and just couldn't do it no matter how hard I tried) that I ended up bulimic for 10 years in my late teens and twenties. I'm in 40s now and still haven't figured out how to be the weight I want to be. If it had been as simple for me to lose weight as you suggest, I could have done it in year one and lived happily ever after.

You really have no clue do you. For you, losing weight might be easy and other things hard (for example empathy, understanding, and intellect). For a lot of us, the endless attempts at losing weight are a nightmare which rules our life. It is not as easy as just 'oh I think I'll.lose weight this week .. done.

Grrrrrrrrr....

*I’ve applied the OP’s breathtaking lack of empathy and her simple thinking to everyone’s problems. From now on, nobody will have any problems because I’ve thought of all the solutions:

1. not enough money - just get a good job
2. house messy - tidy up
3. your parent died - never mind, everyone’s parents die so just forget about it
4. child getting bullied - just email school, all sorted
5. alcohol problems - don’t drink anymore
6. can’t get a GP appointment - just go private
7. mental health problems - pull yourself together
8. child struggling at school - just tell them to work harder
9. bad relationship - just get a divorce
10. not enough space - just get a bigger house
11. Too much to do - hire help

There we go. Loads of boards can be deleted from MN. No need for relationships, mental health, education.*

(The OP probably actually thinks that way and has probably given said advice!!! So sadly your wit may be lost!!)

@ekidmxcl

Being fat doesn’t make you illiterate - we all know weight is linked to covid problems. The problem isn't that she’s pointed the link out, It’s the way she plays dumb about not understanding why people are fat and haven’t lost weight, despite many of the reasons being detailed on this thread.

I’ve applied the OP’s breathtaking lack of empathy and her simple thinking to everyone’s problems. From now on, nobody will have any problems because I’ve thought of all the solutions:

1. not enough money - just get a good job
2. house messy - tidy up
3. your parent died - never mind, everyone’s parents die so just forget about it
4. child getting bullied - just email school, all sorted
5. alcohol problems - don’t drink anymore
6. can’t get a GP appointment - just go private
7. mental health problems - pull yourself together
8. child struggling at school - just tell them to work harder
9. bad relationship - just get a divorce
10. not enough space - just get a bigger house
11. Too much to do - hire help

There we go. Loads of boards can be deleted from MN. No need for relationships, mental health, education.

We.should have this as a reminder posted everywhere on these boards. It would solve everyone's problems virtually overnight.

Threads like this are weird. I mean, we all know that those ads which say 'lose 20 lbs of fat through this simple trick' are absolute bullshit and yet someone thinks they can just tell fat women to stop being fat and they well.

Honestly, the OP could make loads of money out of this. All she has to do is say 'ermigerd yer so fat, it's bad fer yer health yer?' and everyone would be thin.

Like a miracle.

Goady post OP so I assume you don’t actually want to know, however - many people are overweight because they use food to manage anxiety, anxiety has tended to get worse over lockdown, so people find it hard to manage food. Not to mention the general changes in eating patterns over the last few decade that make it harder to change habits. I am sure you have some unhelpful habits and coping behaviours, they just don’t show up on your arse.

@Hampotsandonions I think a larger proportion of men are overweight, but there is also a difference in women's immunity. It is more adaptive apparently, due to pregnancy . Odd though, as pregnancy is also linked to the much higher prevalence of autoimmune disorders in women.

@Franticbutterfly

I am all for trying to get to a healthy weight and to have healthy habits, I also think people need to be truthful - it isn’t healthy to be overweight. But your post is puzzling - if you are fat then you aren’t looking after yourself, so you are in the same position as your patients that didn’t look after themselves, so surely you understand it is a complex issue for many people??

As you said you want to understand OP, for me it is a massive worry that my weight gives me a higher risk from Covid. I have gained and lost the same few pounds on and off all year and don't make excuses for myself. But, it's not easy or quick to lose weight and balancing mental health, feeding the family while dieting and exercising is difficult and not everyone is able to do it successfully. Same as giving up smoking. Same as stopping drinking.

It takes months/years to lose weight and consistent exercise, diet etc. This is extremely difficult in lockdown. We are all also moving less generally in lockdown so it takes even more exercise than usual, and because we're stuck at home, even more willpower to not eat throughout the day.

If weight loss was easy everyone would be doing it. Unless you've never been overweight, whether or not you lost the weight, you can't comment on how supposedly easy it is to just lose weight. It's not.