People who are overweight have a higher risk of developing serious Covid-19. In Germany there are quite a few: According to the German Obesity Society, every fourth person suffers from severe overweight, i.e. a BMI over 30. That is more than 20 million people. Scientists from various disciplines are researching in various studies why very overweight corona patients often have severe courses.
An international team of researchers has now found that Covid-19 can penetrate human fat cells. One of the study’s authors is immunologist Professor Catherine Blish. The professor at Stanford University tells how they proceeded in the study. On the one hand, the researchers examined fat samples from overweight people who had died of corona. On the other hand, they observed how the virus behaves in not yet infected fatty tissue from non-corona patients.
Their results show that the virus can be found both in fat cells and in immune cells, so-called macrophages, in the tissue. So far, researchers have assumed three reasons why being very overweight could trigger severe corona cases. A mechanical reason could be that being very overweight makes breathing more difficult as more mass presses on the chest. An altered metabolism and an associated altered immune response due to being overweight could play a further role. The third explanation: fat cells themselves could contribute to Covid-19 infections. Catherine Blish explains that the virus can trigger inflammatory processes in the infected adipose tissue:
“In the case of someone who died of Covid-19, we examined the adipose tissue around the heart. And we were able to visualize the infected fat cells that were right next to the foci of inflammation. I can’t say for sure that this is responsible for the bad outcome of the disease – but it’s definitely something you don’t want to find in an autopsy report. “
Inflammation in the body plays an important role in severe courses of Covid-19, explains the researcher:
“Inflammation is an important defense mechanism. Inflammation is important at certain stages of any infection because it prompts the immune system to rid the body of a virus or bacterium. But what we see with Covid is that this immune response is not regulated. It doesn’t stop properly anymore. And in the vast majority of severe Covid courses, inflammation occurs that is not proportional to the amount of virus – and that leads to the dire results of the disease. “
Does that mean the more fat you have in your body, the more virus and inflammation there is? When it comes to this question, the researcher points out the limitations of the study: she cannot prove a causal relationship – the researchers only examined the fat of obese people. So there is still no data on whether the fat cells of people with normal weight behave differently. The study is currently being revised and will not be published for a few months.
Also in other organs are in previous studies Sars-Cov2 proteins have been found. The detection in the lungs has been highest so far – but adipose tissue follows immediately afterwards.
Even if we need more data about the exact pathways of the virus in the body, experts from the German Obesity Society warn of the consequences of being overweight and a corona infection:
“The heavier a person, the higher the risk of dying from Covid-19. We see that in the scientific data, especially in adults between 40 and 60 years of age,” said the President of the German Obesity Society (DAG), Jens Aberle , in a message.
Catherine Blish also emphasizes that obese people in the pandemic should take special care of themselves: “I think the message that all people who are very overweight should take with them is that they should take special care to get their vaccinations and wear masks and do not expose yourself to the virus. And they should do exercise that will help them improve their metabolic health – so that it will help them cope with Covid 19 if they become infected. “
Source: study