CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Horm Metab Res 2022; 54(08): 496-502
DOI: 10.1055/a-1878-9757
Review

Obesity and COVID-19: What are the Consequences?

1   Department of Medicine III, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
,
Mohamed Hassanein
2   Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Dubai Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
,
Emran G. Khan
3   Endocrinology and Diabetology, King’s College Hospital London, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
,
Mohamad Yaman
4   Building 6, Nesmah Technology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
,
Margrit Kamel
5   Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Technische Universitat Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Mahmoud Barbir
6   Department of Cardiology, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Dietrich E. Lorke
7   Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
,
Dean Everett
8   Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
,
Saqipi Bejtullah
9   Research Unit, College Heimerer, Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
,
Tobias Lohmann
10   MK5, Städtisches Klinikum Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Uwe Lindner
11   Internal Medicine II, Klinikum Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany
,
Ermal Tahirukaj
1   Department of Medicine III, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
,
Feras Jassim Jirjees
12   College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
,
Sameh S.M. Soliman
12   College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
,
13   Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
,
Stefan R. Bornstein
1   Department of Medicine III, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
14   School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine and Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Obesity is an increasing health problem all over the world. In combination with the current COVID-19 pandemic, this has turned into a massive challenge as individuals with overweight and obesity at all ages show a significant increase in their risk of getting severe COVID-19. Around 20% of all patients that were hospitalized for COVID-19 suffered from obesity alone, whereas obesity in combination with other metabolic comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, account for up to 60% of all hospitalizations in relation to COVID-19. Therefore, it is of immense importance to put the spotlight on the high incidence of obesity present already in childhood both by changing the individual minds and by encouraging politicians and the whole society to commence preventive interventions for achieving a better nutrition for all social classes all over the world. In the current review, we aim to explain the different pathways and mechanisms that are responsible for the increased risk of severe COVID-19 in people with overweight and obesity. Furthermore, we discuss how the pandemic has led to weight gains in many people during lockdown. At the end, we discuss the importance of preventing such an interface between a non-communicable disease like obesity and a communicable disease like COVID-19 in the future.



Publication History

Received: 16 March 2022

Accepted after revision: 04 April 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
20 June 2022

Article published online:
09 August 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 
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