Higher Body Weight Linked With Severe COVID-19 Risk: Lancet Study

The researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK noted that this is the first large study to report the effect of bodyweight on risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19 across the full range of BMI.

Being overweight is associated with an increased risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19, including higher ICU admissions, according to a study published on Thursday in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal. The researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK noted that this is the first large study to report the effect of bodyweight on risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19 across the full range of body-mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of body fat calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilogrammes by the square of height in metres. The study is based on more than 6.9 million people living in England and included data from over 20,000 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalised or died during the first wave of the pandemic in the country.