The mutual effects of COVID-19 and obesity

Abstract

The mutual effects of COVID-19 and obesity December 31st, 2020, is the day on which the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed about the birth of a new virus belongs to CORONA viruses family causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Zhu et al., 2020). On March 11th, 2020, the WHO announced to the world the confirmation of COVID-19 as pandemic after causing 1,776,867 confirmed cases and 111,828 confirmed deaths (Zhu et al., 2020). COVID-19 is known to cause lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, does it cause overweight or obesity? Is it dangerous to be obese and get COVID-19?Overweight and obesity are defined as excessive fat accumulation, so they represent a risk to health. Most of the world's populations live in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight. But will the world notice an increase in obesity during this era of the COVID-19 epidemic?One gets obese due to the consumption of too many calories to be used by the body. This occurs due to eating energy-dense foods that are rich in fat and sugar and decrease in physical activity (Smethers and Rolls, 2018). Changes in diet and lifestyle are usually due to environmental changes, which are evident during this period of the pandemic, curfew, and quarantine. All governments that got COVID-19 in their countries have started a curfew until further notice. This leads to a change in lifestyle and a decrease in exercise practice in their populations. So, in addition to work stops, the people in these countries stopped working and going to gyms or parks to do exercise or even doing at home. Many people may become stressed, depressed, or unable to do any form of exercise and others eating more foods without any kind of activities as a result of bad news of COVID-19 spread, which may result in weight gain and becoming obese (Rodríguez et al., 2020).As COVID-19 pandemic continues sweeping the world, it looks like that it doesn't have effects on physical health only. Still, also it has its burdens on psychological health through fear of catching the virus, worrying about family, social isolation, financial pressure, rumors everywhere, and information overload. These all can lead to increased stress & anxiety levels, which will lead to more physical health issues, including obesity. Previous study reported an association between chronic stress with obesity, higher energy intake & lower diet quality (Isasi et al., 2015). Stress can affect body weight through biological behavioral & psychological mechanisms.Biological mechanisms:• Activation of the hypothalamo-adrenal-pituitary axis, that leads to releasing cortisol, which can affect body weight by promoting eating by stimulating eating on its own, decreasing brain sensitivity to Leptin potentiating reward pathway (Schulte et al., 2015).

Population-Based Study of the Changes in the Food Choice Determinants of Secondary School Students: Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

“…During the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the spread of SARS-COV-2 virus, which was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 [1], there are novel problems arising in the globe which must be addressed in public health policy, including those associated with food and nutrition. Recent studies indicate that nutrition is becoming a more important issue than before because malnutrition [2] as well as obesity [3] may influence the outcomes of COVID-19 patients, and hence, high nutritional status should be maintained by following a properly balanced diet. At the same time, weight control is commonly stated as a problem during the COVID-19 lockdown, due to reduced physical activity and following an improperly balanced diet [4].…”

COVID‐19: Impact of obesity and diabetes on disease severity

“…Old age, chronic disease, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular disease have been studied intensively and found to have a significant association with the severity of COVID‐19 3 . Patients with obesity and diabetes are also at risk of severe COVID‐19 outcomes, which is particularly important to healthcare workers considering the high prevalence of these conditions in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States 4,5 …”

Strengthening resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic and fostering future resilience requires concerted action on obesity

“…Lockdowns and social isolation may exacerbate 'root' factors that contribute to obesity, particularly an obesogenic environment in which healthier food and activity patterns are more difficult to achieve [26], and the impact that adverse life events and poor mental wellbeing can have upon weight [27]. Authors from various countries and regions, including Egypt, Latin America, Romania, and the UK have highlighted the danger of high obesity prevalence being exacerbated by the pandemic [8,23,28,29].…”