Little Extra Weight Risks Severe Covid, Under-40s Most Impacted: Study

The findings published Thursday offer fresh insights into who is most at risk of complications, laying out the effects for certain age and ethnic groups and showing how weight gain matters.

Carrying even a little extra weight raises the risk of developing a severe form of Covid-19, especially in younger adults, according to a new study. The findings published Thursday offer fresh insights into who is most at risk of complications, laying out the effects for certain age and ethnic groups and showing how weight gain matters. The study comes as repeated lockdowns and pandemic stress lead to expanding waistlines in many developed countries and quashes the perception that only the obese face worse outcomes. Those with a body mass index above 23, which is considered at the upper end of the healthy range, are already at higher risk, according to the U.K. researchers. They found that each one-point increase in BMI raises the chance of hospitalization by 5% and of intensive-care admission by 10%.