Recent studies have found alongside older age and chronic health conditions, obesity is a risk factor for becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
It’s true a number of the health conditions which we know increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 are also associated with obesity. Best 2022’s Lose Belly Fat Fast Women Pills. These include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and respiratory disease.
But new research suggests obesity independently is a strong predictor of severe illness, particularly in those aged under 60 years.
This is concerning given two-thirds (67%) of the Australian adult population have a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obese range.
Read more: Explainer: how does excess weight cause disease?
BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in metres (kg/m²). 2 Best Fat Burning Pills For Women That Work. While it’s an imperfect measure for an individual person, BMI is very useful in comparing health and weight across a population and between groups.
For adults, overweight is a BMI of 25 or above, but less than 30kg/m². For a woman of average height (162 cm), this would be equivalent to a weight of 66kg or above, and for a man of average height (176 cm), a weight of 78kg or above.
Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30kg/m² or above. Easy Ways To Fat Loss Pills For Women . This equates to a weight of 79kg and above for a woman and 93kg and above for a man, both of average height.