The Times Australia
Fisher and Paykel Appliances
The Times World News

.

It might be uncomfortable to talk about. But obesity puts children at risk of severe COVID

  • Written by Philip Britton, Senior lecturer, Child and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney
It might be uncomfortable to talk about. But obesity puts children at risk of severe COVID

Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is on parents’ minds, now Australia’s rollout is open to those aged 12 and over, and regulators are actively considering vaccination for five to 11 year olds. Many parents will be thinking about the pros and cons of their children being vaccinated.

Excess weight seems to be an important factor that increases the chance of COVID-19 progressing to severe disease, including in children.

Yet the benefits of vaccines for children with excess weight or obesity hasn’t received much attention.

Read more: These 3 factors predict a child's chance of obesity in adolescence (and no, it's not just their weight)[1]

What does the evidence say?

Defining excess weight and obesity in a child is based on their weight and height (their body mass index[2] or BMI). Like most aspects of health in children, that is expected to change as they grow and develop.

Many studies have shown children and young people with excess weight and obesity are more likely to go to hospital or become severely unwell with COVID-19.

A large study[3] of more than 43,000 hospital presentations of children under 18 years in the United States showed the main background health conditions that increased the chance a child would need admission to hospital with COVID were diabetes and obesity.

If admitted to hospital with COVID, having diabetes, obesity or heart disease increased the risk of severe disease requiring intensive care.

A recent study[4] of more than 400 COVID admissions in children from Canada, Iran and Costa Rica showed obesity was associated with severe COVID-19, particularly among those aged over 12. Obesity was the only background health condition that increased the risk (three-fold) of severe COVID-19 in this age group.

Doctor listens to a child's back with a stethoscope.
One study showed obesity was the only existing health condition that increased the risk of severe COVID in adolescents. Shutterstock[5]

In Australia, two-thirds of children[6] who needed ICU-level care for COVID have excess weight (weight above the 95th percentile for their age), which is at least twice the proportion[7] of children with excess weight in the general population.

Why does weight seem to matter so much?

It is not absolutely clear, but it seems excess weight and obesity particularly affect how well our immune system can control the virus[8] early on in the infection.

It also seems to predispose us to a poorly regulated immune response later in the infection, leading to too much inflammation.

This so-called hyper-inflammation is a key cause of severe COVID-19.

How blood vessels respond to stress and inflammation[9] may also be compromised in people with excess weight and obesity, leading to complications such as kidney injury, blood clotting, stroke and heart attacks.

In adults, obesity is a major risk factor for severe COVID-19[10]too. It frequently occurs alongside diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases in the so-called metabolic syndrome. All of these diseases have been associated with more severe COVID and similarly are linked to poorly regulated immune responses.

Read more: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome after COVID in children is rare but makes the body fight itself[11]

There may also be a mechanical effect[12], with obesity restricting chest wall movement reducing lung volumes and airway size under stress.

Obesity is also a leading risk factor for severe influenza[13], potentially through some similar mechanisms.

What can we do about it?

Vaccines offer the best protection from COVID. Shutterstock[14]

Parents need to be aware their child’s weight can affect their risk of severe COVID. These resources[15] can help determine where your child sits in terms of their weight.

Parents should also factor their and their children’s weight into their family decisions about COVID prevention, including vaccination. If you or they are overweight, vaccines offer the best protection from COVID.

If you think your child might have excess weight, talk to your GP and consider making some changes to the family’s physical activity, screen time, sleep and eating behaviours. The Eight Health Habits fact sheet[16] provides some starting points for families.

Obesity also needs to be factored into national decision-making around vaccination priorities. When vaccines were first made available for children aged 12-15 years, a number of health conditions were listed as “conditions associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19”. Severe obesity was on this list, but the list wasn’t ranked, so weight received very little focus.

Among all the recommended groups that should be vaccinated, people with obesity should be a top priority given it’s one of the highest risk[17] factors for severe COVID.

Read more: Do kids get long COVID? And how often? A paediatrician looks at the data[18]

Parents need to be aware of their and their children’s weight as an important issue in making decisions about vaccination.

Health practitioners and policymakers should prioritise excess weight and obesity as health conditions in current and future vaccine programs.

It might be uncomfortable to talk about, but weight is a key factor that makes COVID worse, even in children. We need to talk about it so parents can make informed decisions about their child’s risk and the benefits of vaccination.

References

  1. ^ These 3 factors predict a child's chance of obesity in adolescence (and no, it's not just their weight) (theconversation.com)
  2. ^ body mass index (pro.healthykids.nsw.gov.au)
  3. ^ A large study (jamanetwork.com)
  4. ^ A recent study (www.medrxiv.org)
  5. ^ Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
  6. ^ two-thirds of children (www.paeds.org.au)
  7. ^ at least twice the proportion (www.aihw.gov.au)
  8. ^ how well our immune system can control the virus (academic.oup.com)
  9. ^ blood vessels respond to stress and inflammation (www.sciencedirect.com)
  10. ^ a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 (journals.plos.org)
  11. ^ Multisystem inflammatory syndrome after COVID in children is rare but makes the body fight itself (theconversation.com)
  12. ^ mechanical effect (www.science.org)
  13. ^ leading risk factor for severe influenza (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  14. ^ Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
  15. ^ These resources (pro.healthykids.nsw.gov.au)
  16. ^ Eight Health Habits fact sheet (pro.healthykids.nsw.gov.au)
  17. ^ highest risk (www.fda.gov)
  18. ^ Do kids get long COVID? And how often? A paediatrician looks at the data (theconversation.com)

Read more https://theconversation.com/it-might-be-uncomfortable-to-talk-about-but-obesity-puts-children-at-risk-of-severe-covid-171116

Active Wear

Times Magazine

In 2024, the climate crisis worsened in all ways. But we can still limit warming with bold action

Climate change has been on the world’s radar for decades[1]. Predictions made by scientists at...

End-of-Life Planning: Why Talking About Death With Family Makes Funeral Planning Easier

I spend a lot of time talking about death. Not in a morbid, gloomy way—but in the same way we d...

YepAI Joins Victoria's AI Trade Mission to Singapore for Big Data & AI World Asia 2025

YepAI, a Melbourne-based leader in enterprise artificial intelligence solutions, announced today...

Building a Strong Online Presence with Katoomba Web Design

Katoomba web design is more than just creating a website that looks good—it’s about building an onli...

September Sunset Polo

International Polo Tour To Bridge Historic Sport, Life-Changing Philanthropy, and Breath-Taking Beau...

5 Ways Microsoft Fabric Simplifies Your Data Analytics Workflow

In today's data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to streamline their data anal...

The Times Features

Farm to Fork Australia Launches Exciting 7th Season on Ten

New Co-Host Magdalena Roze joining Michael Weldon, Courtney Roulston, Louis Tikaram, and Star Guest ...

How GST Revenue is Allocated to Each State or Territory

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one of the most important revenue streams for Australian gov...

In 2024, the climate crisis worsened in all ways. But we can still limit warming with bold action

Climate change has been on the world’s radar for decades[1]. Predictions made by scientists at...

Higher than expected inflation report dashes hopes for further RBA rate cuts

Inflation jumped 1.3% in the September quarter, above economists’ and the Reserve Bank’s own exp...

How Inflation Influences the RBA’s Determination on Fiscal Policy

Inflation is one of the most important economic indicators in Australia, and it plays a central ro...

What Are Rare Earth Minerals and Why Is China Restricting Exports?

Rare earth minerals have quietly become one of the most critical resources in the 21st century, ...

Tomago failure reveals Labor’s energy crisis

Up to 1000 jobs are in immediate jeopardy at the Tomago Aluminium smelter, with reports indicating...

Why the Prevailing RBA Mortgage Interest Rates Are Not to Blame for the Continuing Rise in Residential Dwelling Prices

Australia’s housing market remains one of the most debated economic issues of the decade. Despite ...

GPs will soon get extra incentives to bulk bill. So will your doctor be free?

A key commitment at May’s federal election was an A$8.5 billion promise[1] to increase incenti...