According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 25 per cent of children and 67 per cent of adults were overweight or obese in 2017-18. Research has shown that obesity can increase the severity of a COVID-19 infection as the receptors COVID binds to in the lungs are even more prevalent in fat tissue. This leads to more severe infections, greater complications and an increased likelihood of the need for ventilation in ICU. An unpublished study of 16,749 COVID-19 patients in the UK found that “obese patients were 37% more likely to die in hospital than non-obese patients”.

There has never been a better reason to bring your weight down than now. We know that obesity can lead to heart disease and Type 2 diabetes but now there is this COVID imperative to motivate those of you who are carrying extra weight to do something about it and start on the road to a healthier future.

Information sourced from Dietitian Catherine Saxelby