Could Obesity Raise Infection Risk? 10 Deadly Illnesses Identified In Finnish Study

These new findings by Finiish scientists are based on 925 bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infectious diseases. Researchers also examined ten common infectious diseases in more detail.

Have you been doing everything to stay safe from viral infections, yet falls ill easily? Scientists warn that being overweight (BMI of 30 or higher) can increase your risk of hospitalization or death from an infection by 70 per cent, compared to people healthy weight (BMI between 18.5 to 24.9).

Could Obesity Raise Infection Risk?

A study published in The Lancet, where researchers examined 540,000 participant found that obesity can drive death linked to infectious disease by 11 per cent. The study's lead author, Mika Kivim ki, PhD, chair of social epidemiology and professor at University College London (UCL), told a leading media outlet, "I was surprised by the wide range of severe infections that obesity is associated with."

He is also reported to have said, "Obesity is well known as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic conditions. Here we have found robust evidence that obesity is also linked to worse outcomes from infectious diseases, as becoming very ill from an infection is markedly more common among people with obesity.

"Our findings suggest that obesity weakens the body's defences against infections, resulting in more serious diseases. People may not get infected more easily, but recovery from infection is clearly harder."

10 Deadly Illnesses Identified In Finnish Study

The result of the latest findings is based on 925 bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infectious diseases, including ten common infectious diseases in more detail. Here are ten common infectious diseases outlined by Finnish scientists which obesity could increase your chance of contracting:

1. Acute pharyngitis or acute tonsillitis
2. Influenza
3. Pneumonia
4. Lower respiratory tract infections
5. Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
6. Gastrointestinal infections
7. Skin and soft tissue infections
8. HIV
9. Tuberculosis
10. COVID-19

Concerned about the future, first author Dr. Solja Nyberg, University of Helsinki, commented, "As obesity rates are expected to rise globally, so will the number of deaths and hospitalizations from infectious diseases linked to obesity. To reduce the risk of severe infections, as well as other health issues linked with obesity, there is an urgent need for policies that help people stay healthy and support weight loss, such as access to affordable healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. Furthermore, if someone has obesity, it is especially important to keep their recommended vaccinations up to date."

Co-author, Dr. Sara Ahmadi-Abhari, Imperial College London, who conducted the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) analyses, said, "Estimates of the global impact give a sense of how large the problem may be, but they should be interpreted with caution. Data on infection-related deaths and obesity in the GBD are not always accurate, particularly in low-resource countries."

What Causes Obesity?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity typically result from an imbalance of energy intake, i.e., diet and energy expenditure, i.e., physical activity. "In most cases obesity is a multifactorial disease due to environmental and psycho-social factors and genetic variants," WHO explains. "Key environmental factors affecting the prevalence of overweight and obesity are those that limit the availability of healthy and sustainably-produced food at locally affordable prices spaces for physical activity and the absence of adequate legal and regulatory environments."

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