STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- After old age, obesity appears to be the most prominent risk factor for being hospitalized with COVID-19, doubling the risk of hospitalization in patients under the age of 60
- Most COVID-19 patients have more than one underlying health issue. A study looking at 5,700 New York City patients found 88% had more than one comorbidity. Only 6.3% had just one underlying health condition and 6.1% had none
- Obesity also makes you more vulnerable to infectious diseases by lowering your immune function
- Elevated blood glucose levels appear to play a significant role in viral replication and the development of cytokine storms. The real pandemic here appears to be dysregulated glucose metabolism; in other words, insulin resistance
- Amassing data suggest that even when in close, crowded quarters, the infection rate is rather low, and fit, healthy individuals are more likely to be asymptomatic than not when testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection
