Since the beginning of the pandemic, epidemiological studies have linked obesity with Covid-19, both the risks of infection, as well as those of severity and mortality. And, contrary to what has happened with other factors, this relationship has been confirmed in successive investigations, such as the following:
Given this evidence, there have been many voices, especially from the nutrition field, calling for greater priority in the promotion of healthy eating and more initiatives for weight loss programs, such as strategies to combat the pandemic.
Is it a reasonable request?
Below I will briefly present my opinion. A personal and debatable opinion, of course.
But what is not so clear is his priority in this situation. In a pandemic situation, it is especially important to quickly achieve large-scale results, since the disease evolves from infection to death very quickly, in just weeks, taking lives, disrupting our society and collapsing our health systems. And regarding interventions for healthy eating and weight loss in this context, we find ourselves in the following circumstances:
Lack of evidence of real impact: Although there are a large number of studies that find a relationship between obesity and the risks of Covid-19, they are all observational. At the moment, no trial has been carried out in which weight loss has been promoted and the reduction of infections and/or severe cases has been confirmed. And because of the difficulty of this type of trial, I doubt that a study like this will be done in a reasonable period of time.
In summary, without ceasing to be a defender of policies to promote healthy eating and prevent overweight, and without forgetting that during the pandemic situation it is necessary to continue working to promote healthy habits, I believe that now it is time to prioritize other strategies, capable of to achieve results more globally, of greater magnitude and more quickly.