CDC Reveals Connection to Weight & COVID: 79% of Hospitalized Americans Were Obese, Overweight

Andrea Morris
03-10-2021

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Shocking news was released from the CDC Monday revealing that a vast majority of people who have been hospitalized, placed on a ventilator, or died from COVID-19 were obese or overweight. 

The new study shows that nearly 150,000 people at 238 U.S. hospitals tested positive for COVID-19 from March to December last year. Of those patients, 28.3 percent were overweight and 50.8 percent were obese.

Overweight is identified as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more and those who are considered obese have a BMI of 30 or more. 

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The CDC discovered that the risk for hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and death was at its lowest level for patients with a BMI under 25. And the possibility of developing a serious illness "sharply increased," for those with a higher BMI, especially for people 65 and older.

"As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity," the agency wrote.

READ: What You Need to Know About the Leading Coronavirus Vaccines

And the CDC reports that 73.6 percent of adults aged 20 and older are considered overweight while 42.5 percent within that same age bracket are obese.

The CDC added that "These results highlight the need to promote and support a healthy BMI, which might be especially important for populations disproportionately affected by obesity, particularly Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic black adults and persons from low-income households, which are populations who have a higher prevalence of obesity and are more likely to have worse outcomes from COVID-19 compared with other populations."

"As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMI's, especially for those with severe obesity," the agency added.

Meanwhile, the World Obesity Federation (WOF) reports that of the 2.5 million COVID-related deaths that were reported at the end of last month, 2.2 million were in countries where over half the population is deemed overweight.

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About The Author

Andrea Morris
Andrea
Morris

Andrea Morris is a Features Producer for The 700 Club. She came to CBN in 2019 where she worked as a web producer in the news department for three years. Her passion was always to tell human interest stories that would touch the hearts of readers while connecting them with God. She transitioned into her new role with The 700 Club in August 2022.
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