Weighing The Impact of Obesity on COVID-19 in Low- to Middle-Income Countries

COVID-19 is an emerging pandemic, due to its rapid transmission and high case-fatality rate, thus, recognition of its risk and prognostic factor is important. Obesity has been associated with impaired immune system and has been reported to be as an independent risk and prognostic factor for the requirement of advanced medical treatment due to COVID-19. Therefore, obese patients with COVID-19 should be treated as a higher risk population.

In many low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), the rising prevalence of obesity in the past few years might greatly influence the COVID-19 impact on mortality. The relatively high prevalence of obesity in many LMICs might put another burden to the already stretched health care facilities facing the COVID-19 pandemic. In the aspect of prevention, while staying home has been campaigned globally to reduce COVID-19 rapid transmission, in long term, it may simultaneously increase the susceptibility of people to develop obesity, a risk factor to develop severe COVID-19.