Obese people diagnosed with COVID-19 are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized and about 50% more likely to die compared to patients who are a healthy weight, according to a meta-analysis published in Obesity Reviews. In the United States, nearly 74% of adults are overweight and 42% are obese. Hispanic and Black Americans have obesity rates roughly 25% higher than white Americans, contributing to the racial disparity in America’s COVID-19 death rates.

Little has been done to slow the decadeslong rise in adult obesity in America. It is essential we finally recognize the human and economic cost of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as an “obesity epidemic.” Federal, state and local policymakers must increase the importance of nutrition and exercise in their adoption of laws and regulations governing health care delivery, health care insurance, nutrition assistance and schools.

WILLIAM GLIKES
Pine

First Published: March 16, 2021, 4:00 a.m.