Preventive measures for obesity pandemic during COVID-19 quarantine; choosing the right diet

Abstract

Until recently, obesity was one of the greatest public health issues. At the moment, the world is counting deaths from COVID-19, and raging obesity pandemic is not in the focus. While the quarantine is the mainstay of COVID-19 prevention, it also opposes obesity prevention. Obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection. Treatment of obesity during quarantine is challenging; trying to lose weight without the opportunity for outdoor activity or access to fresh and healthy foods may lead to frustration, depression and overeating. Therefore, we propose that patients should focus on preventing new weight gain instead of losing weight. It can be achieved by practicing indoor physical exercise together with adequate diet. The diet should be opposite from, “Western diet pattern’’ and include foods easily obtainable during quarantine; with longer shelf life, but also rich in anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory bioactive compounds. These characteristics of the diet make it simple to implement during quarantine, it helps in the process maintaing weight and supports immune system-all what is required to possibly reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 infection. The anti-inflammatory properties from given diet have beneficial role, especially in obese patients, as they have low grade chronic inflammation which additionally may worsen clinical course of COVID-19 infection.