Here And Elsewhere, Obesity A Major Factor In Severe COVID-19 Illness

Obesity has emerged as a major predictor of severe COVID-19 illness, according to new research.

That linkage is demonstrated in Albany, where dozens of patients have died of COVID-19 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

Phoebe’s chief medical officer, Dr. Steven Kitchen, said the hospital has not yet gathered precise data on obesity rates of coronavirus patients. But he told GHN on Thursday that “a disproportionate percentage of our critically ill patients in our ICUs are morbidly obese.’’