COVID-19 Pandemi Sürecinde İdeal Vücut Ağırlığının Önemi

Abstract

The Importance of Ideal Body Weight in the COVID-19 Pandemia Period Obesity is an important public health problem that is common worldwide. With obesity, there is an increase in many diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which are risk factors for COVID-19. In 2009, obesity was first defined as a risk factor for disease severity and mortality in infected individuals in the pandemic caused by H1N1 Influenza A virus affecting the upper respiratory tract. Then, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which emerged in 2012, was also found to be more common in individuals with obesity. These findings, which show that obesity increases the risk of disease severity and death in viral respiratory infections, suggest that obesity may increase the risk of another viral respiratory disease, COVID-19. Studies show that individuals with obesity suffer from COVID-19 disease more severely than individuals with normal body weight, and their intensive care unit needs are higher. Obesity is a risk factor for more severe COVID-19 disease due to a low-grade inflammatory condition and weakened immunity. There are studies in the literature showing that obesity as well as low body weight negatively affect the outcomes of COVID-19 disease. These studies revealed that COVID-19 patients with low body weight are at greater risk of mechanical ventilation and death. It has been observed that low body mass index and low body weight especially in infected elderly individuals increase the severity of COVID-19. Therefore, individuals having ideal body weight can prevent the negative consequences of COVID-19 disease. In addition, healthy nutrition plays an important role in the optimal functioning of the immune system and weight control. Keywords: COVID-19, obesity, underweight, immunity, nutrition