Obesity, Coronavirus And The Uncomfortable Conversation We’re Not Having

Scientific study after scientific study seems to be proving that obesity could be a major contributor as to whether you live or die, should you be taken to hospital with Covid-19. But, considering we’re all living in a world of wall-to-wall news updates and hours on social media, until now, there doesn’t seem to have been much of a discussion about it. Why?

Well, it’s an uncomfortable truth – and a terrifying one for those of us deemed overweight. Which, at 68 per cent of the population, is a lot of us.

A study by the British Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium of 17,000 people, admitted to 166 hospitals, found that the risk of death was 37 per cent higher in obese patients. So, behind other medical problems, having a BMI over 30 (something that 25 per cent of Brits have) is a significant factor associated with death from coronavirus.

A doctor, Dr Aseem Malhotra, told Good Morning Britain that a US Center for Disease Control and Prevention study warned of a tenfold increased risk of mortality death rates in those that have conditions associated with obesity. One of France’s top doctors, Professor Jean-François Delfraissy has said: ‘This virus is terrible. It can hit young people, in particular obese young people. Those who are overweight really need to be careful.’

Now Boris Johnson is alleged to have 'waged war' on obesity (one in three British Adults is clinically obese, one of the highest rates in the western world) according to a Times front page, after being 'convinced' his weight is the reason he ended up in intensive care, telling his advisors 'it's alright for you thinnies'.

The picture is obviously not clear – we’re still learning about Covid-19. Facts are still emerging. It’s the case, for instance, that those who have a high BMI are more likely to have existing conditions that weaken their immune system. Weight does not live in a vacuum. As Dr Hilary Jones said on that same show, ‘A figure has been bandied about that 75 per cent of people with coronavirus in intensive care are overweight or obese - but then 68 per cent of the population are overweight or obese. There does seem to be a relationship between obesity and severe consequences of coronavirus but we’ve known for a long time that obesity causes all sorts of medical complications.’

We’ve been telling 70-year-olds and those with ‘underlying health conditions’ they can’t leave the house for months, even arranging government food drops for those who need to remain sheltered. Why aren’t we talking about the weight issue more?

Never have we ever in our lives heard the term ‘underlying health condition’ so many times. At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, it was as if the phrase was a life raft to cling onto. As the deaths from Covid-19 first began, slowly, it seemed the government and broadcasters were keen to stress the phrase over and over: ‘The woman, who had underlying health conditions…’ ‘It’s OK,’ it seemed to say. ‘It won’t happen to you.’ We knew deep-down that was selfish – a life is a life, a family were still grieving.

Of course, we’ve learned since then, in our own grief and in watching the news, that it could happen to you – and those you love. With or without an ‘underlying health condition’. We've all whispered tales of friends of friends who were 'fitter than any of us', read the warnings grimly on Twitter. It seemed to be one of the many reasons the Prime Minister’s rapid hospitalisation and descent into ill-health was such a blow. It could happen to those who live in fortresses, surrounded by policeman, and with access to the best healthcare – even if they had… no underlying health conditions.

Time and again, the debate has raged. Should the initial messaging around coronavirus have been around the idea that only ‘over 70s and those with underlying health conditions’ were at risk? What difference would it have made – how many lives would’ve been saved – had we stolen that famous National Lottery line? Stay at home because, really, it could be you.

We’ve only just become used to the scary idea that it could be just bad luck whether you’re spared or not. We’re reluctant to entertain a new one: that for some of us our chances of survival could be down to us. And - worse - something we could feel increasingly powerless to tackle at this moment in time.

When having conversations around weight, it’s always difficult - and that's the problem. It’s really important to say people are overweight for a myriad of socio-economic and mental and physical health reasons. This is not at all about casting blame or judging or fat-shaming. It’s also important that we acknowledge everyone has a story behind the number on the scales – I certainly feel like I do.

It’s always been there in the back of my mind as I tried (and failed) various diets and exercise regimes half-heartedly – that obesity is a known killer, a known risk factor, a reason that you might get sicker than you have to be. As you get older it's a voice that becomes louder than the one about whether you can fit into Topshop skinny jeans.

But then, we’re also living in a world of body positivity, of not judging ourselves, of loving our scars and our wobbly mum-tums. Of the ever-flexible term self-care, that ranges from cakes to 10Ks.

So, when we talk about weight we tie ourselves up, voices get louder, arguments begin, shame is created. We can't talk about weight scientifically – only as a debate. We still haven’t found ‘body neutrality’ as a society - a way to talk and treat ourselves and others without judgement. We haven't, most of us, found a way to talk about it with family and friends. Sometimes, it's easier to stay quiet.

There’s also never been a worse time to talk about weight. Yes, some have seen lockdown as a health kick, a productive time to do three online fitness classes you’d never have managed to fit in before. But for others it’s been emotional: a battle, a time where food is sought for comfort. And, of course, you can only leave your house for an hour a day - your casual commuting/wandering around the office step count, that many relied on, has been annihilated to near-zero.

Another uncomfortable truth is that personally (and I can only speak personally – I think that’s the only way you should really talk about weight unless you’re an expert whose advice has been sought: personally), it’s just made that niggling thought in the back of my brain about my weight itch a bit more. For all the new information we’re taking in at the moment, this one (that being obese can make you ill, or iller) is kind of recycled if I’m truly honest with myself.

It’s unsurprising then, that we’ve probably just absorbed the news and what it could mean for us and our loved ones quietly. There’s a mountain of sadness and bad news we need to bury in order to function every day – it seems this one can just be added to the pile for the moment.

Read More: Life And Love In Covid Times