The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries
Accountability for global health issues such as a pandemic and its devastating consequences are usually ascribed to a virus, but a comprehensive view should also take into account the state of the host. Data suggests that excessive nutrition is to blame for a yet unknown but not negligible portion o...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1106313/full |
| _version_ | 1797871782594609152 |
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| author | Ruggero Gabbrielli Nicola Maria Pugno Nicola Maria Pugno |
| author_facet | Ruggero Gabbrielli Nicola Maria Pugno Nicola Maria Pugno |
| author_sort | Ruggero Gabbrielli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accountability for global health issues such as a pandemic and its devastating consequences are usually ascribed to a virus, but a comprehensive view should also take into account the state of the host. Data suggests that excessive nutrition is to blame for a yet unknown but not negligible portion of deaths attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We analyzed the correlation between mean body mass index (BMI) and 2-year coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates reported by 181 countries worldwide. Almost two thirds of the countries included had a mean BMI greater or equal to 25, with death rates ranging from 3 to 6,280 per million. Death rates in countries with a mean BMI below 25 ranged from 3 to 1,533. When the analysis was restricted to countries where the extent of testing was deemed more representative of actual mortality, only 20.1% had a mean BMI <25 but the mortality difference persisted. A second analysis looking at pre-vaccination mortality obtained from a different source led to similar conclusions. Due to the nature of the variables, reverse causation can be excluded while common causation can not. A mean BMI <25 for a country seems to spare its citizens from the highest COVID-19 mortality rates. The impact of excess weight on global COVID-19 mortality is suspected to have been much higher than what currently perceived, here estimated at no less than a fourfold increase in mortality. Countries with normal mean BMI constitute precious test beds for the quantification of the effects of overeating on COVID-19 mortality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:49:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36aa0ed5507b40e2b503831744db147f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:49:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-36aa0ed5507b40e2b503831744db147f2023-03-13T15:46:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-03-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11063131106313The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countriesRuggero Gabbrielli0Nicola Maria Pugno1Nicola Maria Pugno2Laboratory for Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials and Mechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, ItalyLaboratory for Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials and Mechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, ItalySchool of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United KingdomAccountability for global health issues such as a pandemic and its devastating consequences are usually ascribed to a virus, but a comprehensive view should also take into account the state of the host. Data suggests that excessive nutrition is to blame for a yet unknown but not negligible portion of deaths attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We analyzed the correlation between mean body mass index (BMI) and 2-year coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates reported by 181 countries worldwide. Almost two thirds of the countries included had a mean BMI greater or equal to 25, with death rates ranging from 3 to 6,280 per million. Death rates in countries with a mean BMI below 25 ranged from 3 to 1,533. When the analysis was restricted to countries where the extent of testing was deemed more representative of actual mortality, only 20.1% had a mean BMI <25 but the mortality difference persisted. A second analysis looking at pre-vaccination mortality obtained from a different source led to similar conclusions. Due to the nature of the variables, reverse causation can be excluded while common causation can not. A mean BMI <25 for a country seems to spare its citizens from the highest COVID-19 mortality rates. The impact of excess weight on global COVID-19 mortality is suspected to have been much higher than what currently perceived, here estimated at no less than a fourfold increase in mortality. Countries with normal mean BMI constitute precious test beds for the quantification of the effects of overeating on COVID-19 mortality.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1106313/fullbody mass indexCOVID-19mortalitypublic healthovereating |
| spellingShingle | Ruggero Gabbrielli Nicola Maria Pugno Nicola Maria Pugno The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries Frontiers in Public Health body mass index COVID-19 mortality public health overeating |
| title | The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries |
| title_full | The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries |
| title_fullStr | The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries |
| title_short | The impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from COVID-19 across 181 countries |
| title_sort | impact of mean body mass index on reported mortality from covid 19 across 181 countries |
| topic | body mass index COVID-19 mortality public health overeating |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1106313/full |
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