‘Healthy’ but overweight?

[bumbleymummy]

Ok, I know this is a sensitive subject and I’m really not trying to upset or offend anyone. I just think it’s misleading when people say things like ‘ICU is filled with healthy under 60s’ or talk about a ‘healthy 40- something’ passing away and it turns out that person/a high proportion of those patients are very overweight. Are people who are clearly overweight actually ‘healthy’? I know it’s not the same as an underlying condition like diabetes or heart disease but we know that a high bmi puts people at greater risk of complications from coronavirus.

Before someone jumps on me, I’m not saying that someone’s life is of less value because they are overweight or have an underlying health condition. I’m just wondering if it’s accurate to say that they are ‘healthy’ when we are reporting figures and talking about risk.

I think you can be healthy and overweight. I was obese for years. I also had low blood pressure, low cholesterol, and a fantastic record for times in marathons, in my age group. ( 60s). I always felt healthy. I was never Ill. I think I was healthy and obese. However, I have lost 6 stone since last March for exactly the reasons given here. It’s one thing everyone can and should be doing to help protect themselves from covid. I like being slim. I wouldnt necessarily say I am healthier, but my last marathon was a personal best! Once marathon events become live again, it will be interesting to see if lots of fat runners have lost weight, and if that has any effect on the timings overall

Gosh, well done @Rowenasemolina. I have been nearly two stone heavier than I am now (though losing the weight has been much slower) and I definitely felt less healthy when officially "obese". More aches and pains, less energy and got every cough and cold under the sun, but a lot of that was workplace stress.

Well done @HattieMid2 as well, that's brilliant.

Well done all of us losing weight or lost weight to help stave off Covid. We are doing our bit for ourselves and the NHS

It doesn’t explain all the younger people dying though, in my now sadly not anecdotal evidence. Two parents of primary-aged children (different families), with one group of 3 children now in care. It would be comforting to think that losing weight was a magic bullet, but I fear it is not.

No of course it isn’t. It reduces your risk of death by about 40% I believe

To the pp who is bmi 27 I was that now bmi 21 took 3 months intermittent fasting worked for me (46)

The problem is that obesity is more like an inflammatory disease - it’s not just about the weight. So in that respect the body is already fighting something

The people I know who have been the most severely affected by Covid have not been overweight, but they all have in common that they never exercise or go outside for walks much. They are also all Asians and aren’t they more at risk? Something about vitamin d?

Another factor here I think is that if you do have underlying conditions and those are diagnosed then they are hopefully being managed and people with such conditions are probably trying to make efforts to manage their conditions if they can, e.g., diabetics monitoring blood sugar and eating a diet to manage that or asthmatics keeping weight down and doing exercise to the extent they can and it helps with breathing (unless exercise induced asthma...).

I’m overweight. Not sure of my BMI but it was 35 two years ago. I’m thinking it must still be similar. I haven’t changed much since. Maybe a few extra pounds, so it could be more.
But I’ve always had optimal blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels, always had good blood test results too. I remember a doctor once telling me that I had the most ideal blood test results he’d ever seen.

So I know that I am considered ‘healthy’ but obviously it would be even better if I lost weight.

I also had a very healthy pregnancy with my son, despite my weight and a very straightforward c section too, with no complications.

I think you can. Not me personally- when I’m overweight I’m not fit or healthy.

But I once lived with a woman who was definitely in the overweight bmi bracket by maybe a stone or two and she ran half marathons easily and frequently, went to the gym, happy, active and well.

She lost a couple of stone by reducing her calories and developed lots of minor infections quite quickly- tonsillitis, kidney infections type things. Her bmi was probably middle of the healthy range. Could of course be total coincidence.

I’m sure there’s a scale though- she was only moderately overweight but incredibly fit.

OP I agree with you, it is so noticeable in all the photos of young people who have died.

Perhaps the media could say it, that 'the person who died had no underlying health conditions but was in the obese category which is thought to have contributed to their death'.

I know a few doctors who have all said that diabetes and weight are the most common factors in significant sickness from covid in hospital.

I had an undiagnosed thyroid condition and was pushed into the overweight category before I realised what was wrong. I'm not on medication but one of the lingering symptoms is difficulty in losing weight. Although I have lost some of the weight,2 years on I am still a little (a stone) overweight. However, I exercise daily doing around 14k steps a day, I do strength training 3 days a week. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I use sunscreen. I eat lean meat and vegetables most days for dinner and don't eat refined carbs. My blood pressure and resting heart rate is excellent and on Fitbit my fitness is measured the high end of good. I feel healthy but I can't shift this extra weight? Not even a pound. Yet I log everything I eat and eat 1600 calories a day (I'm 5ft 10 so surely no one could say this is under or overeating to explain away the lack of weight loss?) Would this make me vulnerable if I caught Covid? Or would the Thyroid condition do it? I'm not sure.

Having once been stick thin I hate the extra bit of weight I'm carrying as I hate the judgement that goes with it.

@Rowenasemolina

Well done all of us losing weight or lost weight to help stave off Covid. We are doing our bit for ourselves and the NHS

Absolutely! It’s not easy, especially at the moment, but it will really help if we all do our best to reduce our risk by trying to get to a healthy weight.

I have seen a few articles in the news recently about young people, in their 20s, dying from covid and how shocking it was the family etc, with a picture of the person clearly showing someone very obese. I find the faux 'oh how could they die of covid when so young' a bit annoying as it has been clearly reported multiple times how high a risk factor obesity is when fighting covid.

Being overweight counts as a comorbidity. Anything over a BMI of 25 (not 40)
So does high blood pressure or any other pre existing condition

By this my hypothyroidism and BMI of 27 mean I’m not in the ‘healthy’ bracket for stats which is why all those dingbats bashing on about - well barely any ‘healthy’ under 60s have died so why don’t all the at risk or old people hide away and we can bash on’.
About 1/3 to 1/2 of adults are either a bit fat or have a pre existing condition

I can tell the difference of how our of breath I get when running if I out on or lose a stone. I have lots of overweight friends and am very worried about them getting covid. I was very ill when I had it with a BMI of 25. Some of them have much higher BMIs. A group of us decided to lose weight together and are making good progress. It's one of the few things we can control.
Covid puts pressure on the heart and lungs. Of these are already working harder due to weight then you are more likely to have complications.

Agree. They seem to be skating around the issue. Regardless of whether somebody is ‘healthy’ (and many asthmatics and diabetics are otherwise healthy), being over weight does substantially increase risk and is a medical condition.

I think the wording is about hidden illnesses or uncommon illnesses. So a slender 30 yr old with diabetes has an 'underlying condition' you can't see. An overweight 30yr old has a condition you can see.

@Aha85

I tend to agree OP and I say that as someone who is very overweight (although no longer obese woohoo!)

Well done ☺️👏

Thanks for all your replies. I’m glad I haven’t offended anyone and that I’m not the only one who noticed this. I agree it would be a very difficult thing to report so I’m not really sure there’s a way around it. As actiongirl said, maybe something along the lines of ‘a higher BMI potentially contributed to their death’ would highlight the risk. Although that might be incredibly upsetting for the families. 😕

Well done to everyone who has lost weight and/or is trying to lose weight at the moment! It’s definitely not the easiest time to be doing it.

I suspect that inflammation is a factor for obese people who catch Covid. I had a BMI of 29, started intermittent fasting (16/8) and I didn't realise how much inflammation I had until a week in. My plantar fascitis disappeared, no more aches in the morning, my face was noticeably less puffy.
I had a good diet before IF - no highly processed foods, less sugar than most and I generally aimed for low carb. So if I had a lot of inflammation, I assume someone with a higher BMI who eats more sugar would have significant inflammation.
If anyone reading this has a high BMI and worried about Covid, tackling inflammation with 16/8 is one thing you can do to feel better. Diet Doctor website/Dr Jason Fung videos explain it better. (I'm not a medical professional, so I'm happy to stand corrected, but that has been my experience).

I’m finding it a really easy time to lose weight to be honest. There’s no FOMO as we’re not going to restaurants or pubs or anywhere that you’d enjoy a snack (eg ice cream in the park in the summer). Nothing else to focus on atm apart from work so may as well put the time to good use. 3.5 stone here, 4.5 to go.