Why Are the Obese More at Risk for COVID-19

Dr. Eric Berg 04/13/2024

People who are overweight have a higher risk of getting COVID-19. Find out why.

Timestamps

0:00 COVID-19 risks

0:15 Why people who are overweight have a higher risk of getting COVID-19

3:25 What to do if you're overweight

3:37 Bulletproof your immune system *free course

Today I want to cover why people who are overweight have a higher risk of getting COVID-19.

Potential reasons why people who are overweight have a higher risk of getting COVID-19:

1. The extra fat on the abdomen puts physical pressure on your diaphragm and lungs, restricting oxygen. This can make the lungs more susceptible to problems.

2. There is a higher risk of blood clots to the small vessels of the lungs and the inside of the arteries. There has been a link found between blood clots and COVID-19.

3. The fat is spilling over from the liver into other organs and infiltrating fat in the spleen, thymus, and bone marrow. This may decrease the immune system.

4. There is chronic inflammation. Inflammation can increase someone's risk for a cytokine storm, which is an inflammatory condition that's out of control.

5. Insulin resistance worsens obesity, and obesity worsens insulin resistance. People who have insulin resistance or who are obese may be more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2.

6. In many cases, people who are overweight or obese are deficient in vitamin D. I believe vitamin D is very important to potentially help minimize the complications, side effects, and severity of COVID-19. It may also help decrease your susceptibility to the COVID virus.

There is a strong correlation between COVID 19 mortality and latitude, with the higher mortality rates occurring in countries located further away from the equator. This relationship may be due to the fact that vitamin D levels are lower in countries with cooler climates. Vitamin D has been shown to have immunomodulatory effects and may help protect against respiratory infections. Therefore, it is possible that vitamin D deficiency contributes to the increased COVID 19 mortality rates seen in countries located further from the equator.

If you're overweight or obese, you may benefit from getting on the healthy keto diet and doing intermittent fasting.

Healthy Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting:

https://youtu.be/vMZfyEy_jpI

https://youtu.be/mBqpaAKtnXE

https://youtu.be/3dHcT1-K-tw

DATA:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13128

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2020/08/18/dc20-1714

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_15_16/obesity_adult_15_16.htm#:~:text=Results%20from%20the%202015%E2%80%932016,and%20another%2031.8%25%20are%20overweight

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.17.20156265v3

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32788355/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32499417/