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Photo: NTB Scanpix / TT
Severe obese people can be especially vulnerable if they are infected with the coronavirus. Stock Photography.
People suffering from severe obesity can be particularly vulnerable if they are infected with the corona virus, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare.
In a new report, the authority identifies obesity as one of eight risk factors that can lead to a serious course of the disease.
Older people are more at risk of being seriously affected if they are infected with the coronavirus. But the new report from the National Board of Health and Welfare also identifies other risk factors.
These include diseases like Parkinson’s, MS, and cancer, along with intellectual disability and disability.
Urban Nylén is a medical expert on the National Board of Health and Welfare and one of the people behind the report. He is not surprised by the results, but claims that some have gone unnoticed in Sweden.
“Commonly known”
– Most of the list of risk areas is widely known. The most important factor is advanced age, 70 years and older. But he hasn’t heard much discussion about obesity or cancer, he says.
But for obesity to be a risk factor, a BMI (body mass index) of over 40 is required, which the National Food Agency says is considered severe obesity.
– Yes, then you are quite overweight, says Nylén.
The report is compiled on behalf of the government. It is based on cases around the world and in particular in the country of the China outbreak.
– It is based a lot on what you have seen in China, where you have the longest experience of covid-19. But the experience is very short and many questions have not yet been answered, says Urban Nylén.
“Completed and revised”
He believes that it should serve as a description of the current state, something that will constantly need to be reviewed and supplemented.
– You must be very aware that this applies here and now. It will need to be completed and reviewed as soon as the state of knowledge changes and you know more clearly what applies, says Nylén.
The fact that obesity has not previously been classified as a risk factor for serious illness has been discussed.
According to state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, it is due to a lack of evidence.
“We have not had that information so far, but we have also been contacted for this and we are trying to get better data,” he said earlier this week.
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