CoachBioArt

There’s an interesting article over at bloomberg that describes some recent analysis suggesting that there is a higher mortality rate in swine flu patients with who had a body mass index (BMI) over 40.  Although BMI is a grossly skewed scale (does not take into account % body fat, so many athletes classify as overweight or obese), it is a good measure of height/weight ratio.

The observation still needs to be validated with more cases, but if the link is real, it makes for a very compelling reason to loose weight now that the swine flu is becoming a pandemic problem.  Obviously, morbidly obese people have many problems that either cause or are caused by their weights (diabetes, respiratory issues, etc), so the actual reason for the increased mortality isn’t clear, but there’s no denying that fit people seem to be healthier anyways.

In looking for an explanation, the article goes on to explore some real biological reasons for this correlation:

Scientists don’t yet know whether extremely overweight people get sicker because of associated conditions like heart disease and asthma, or whether the excess fat itself makes them more vulnerable. Both may be to blame.

Fat cells secrete chemicals that cause chronic, low-level inflammation that can hamper the body’s immune response and narrow the airways, says Tim Armstrong, a doctor working in the WHO’s chronic diseases department in Geneva.

What’s more, excess fatty tissue compresses the chest, and the fatty infiltration of the chest wall causes a decrease in lung function and an increase in the pulmonary blood volume, Armstrong said. “If you are obese, you tend to be less physically active and have an associated shallower breathing pattern. All these compound, leading to breathing difficulties.”

The morbidly obese are also more likely to experience insulin resistance, a condition that makes it harder for doctors to lower the level of sugar in the blood of critically ill patients, said Greet Van den Berghe, head of acute medical sciences at Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven.

So what does that tell us? It could be the respiratory issues, it could be the diabetes or it could be some biochemistry.  The bottom line is that it seems like being overweight isn’t an asset in this case (If only I had known that 30 years ago to tell my grandmother that it was ok for me not to finish my meal!)

The article also mentions that studies in mice fed a high fat diet seem to confirm the higher mortality, so at least there is some extra supporting evidence for it.  That being said, it’s probably too early to tell (unfortunately) and it will take some time and many more illnesses for a clear link to be established.  In the meantime, if you needed another reason losing weight and getting in shape… you have it now!