Mortality and morbidity
Possible reasons why being overweight can worsen Covid symptoms include the effect excess fat tissue has on the heart, lungs, liver and other vital organs, increased inflammation and decreased immune response to infection, aside from the risk of comorbidities due to obesity.4
Taking Covid out of the equation, long-term data indicates that life expectancy for people living with obesity in those aged 40 years and over is reduced by 4.2 years in men and 3.5 years in women, compared to healthy weight. For the morbidly obese, life expectancy is reduced by 9.1 years for men and 7.7 years for women.1
Higher body mass index (BMI) is the leading contributory factor in total years lived with disability, more so than tobacco, elevated fasting plasma glucose levels, occupational risks, or dietary risks. It impacts on quality of life by increasing the risk of many conditions:1,5
| Relative risk of developing disease when obese compared to a healthy weight:1 | Men | Women |
| type 2 diabetes | 5.2 | 12.7 |
| hypertension | 2.6 | 2.6 4.2 |
| myocardial infarction | 1.5 | 3.2 |
| colon cancer | 3.0 | 2.7 |
| angina | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| gall bladder diseases | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| ovarian cancer | 1.7 | |
| osteoarthritis | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| stroke | 1.3 | 1.3 |
(Source: PHE)