Obesity increases the risk of severe illness and death in Covid-19 patients

Based on evidence from recent studies, data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, obesity increases the risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19 at any age. GlobalData’s epidemiology data on obesity and Covid-19 confirm this for the seven major markets (7MM) when comparing data for Japan to that for the US and major European countries.

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What is the impact of China’s Zero-COVID lockdowns on economic activity, consumer goods and the foodservice industry?

While wanting to protect the country from being overwhelmed by Omicron, China’s adherence to a Zero-COVID policy is resulting in a significant economic downturn. COVID outbreaks in Shanghai, Beijing and many other Chinese cities will impact 2022’s economic growth as consumers and businesses experience rolling lockdowns, leading to a slowdown in domestic and international supply chains. China’s Zero-COVID policy is having a demonstrable impact on consumer-facing industries. Access GlobalData’s new whitepaper, China in 2022: the impact of China’s Zero-COVID lockdowns on economic activity, consumer goods and the foodservice industry, to examine the current situation in Shanghai and other cities in China, to better understand the worst-affected industry sectors, foodservice in particular, and to explore potential growth opportunities as China recovers. The white paper covers:

Which multinational companies have been affected?
What is the effect of lockdowns on foodservice?
What is the effect of lockdowns on Chinese ports?
Spotlight on Shanghai: what is the situation there?
How have Chinese consumers reacted?
How might the Chinese government react?
What are the potential growth opportunities?

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The CDC study used data from the Premier Healthcare Database Special Covid-19 Release from 148,494 adults ages 18 years and older who received a Covid-19 diagnosis during an emergency department or inpatient visit at 238 US hospitals from March to December last year. The study found that 28.3% of these patients were overweight and 50.8% had obesity. In addition, a WHO report revealed that 90% of global Covid-19 deaths have occurred in countries where half the population is obese. The report also found that death rates were ten times higher in these countries, with the UK and the US being leading examples.

GlobalData’s Epidemiology and Market Size database shows that among the 7MM, Japan shows a significantly lower prevalence of overweight and obesity compared to the US and major European countries (see Figure 1). Japan also has a far lower number of Covid-19 deaths (69 per 1,000,000 population) compared to the US and European countries, where this number ranges from 900 per 1,000,000 population to 1600 per 1,000,000 population (see Table 1), and where there is no clear correlation between obesity prevalence and Covid-19 deaths. However, this analysis does not take the infection and testing rates of individual countries into account.