Health officials are now issuing a warning that adults of any age with excess weight (not necessarily obese) may be at risk for more severe illness with COVID-19.

The risk starts at being overweight but becomes more pronounced as a person becomes obese. Doctors say that people with obesity are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 symptoms, twice as likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19 related complications, and have a 50% increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

In this article, Dr. Donald Hensrud, Director of Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, explains why obesity, with its complications, increases the risk of COVID-19 exponentially, and also explains how we can take steps to protect ourselves by taking our health into our own hands. Hensrud says that managing weight and improving health can maximize our chances if we become infected with COVID-19. (continue to article…)