People with obesity 70% more likely to be hospitalised by or die from infection, study finds

Being unhealthy weight raises risk of severe illness or death from most infectious diseases significantly, researchers find

People living with obesity are 70% more likely to be hospitalised by or die from an infection, with one in 10 infection-related deaths globally linked to the condition, research suggests.

Being an unhealthy weight significantly increases the risk of severe illness and death from most infectious diseases, including flu, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections and Covid-19, according to a study of more than 500,000 people.

Obesity may already be a factor in as many as 600,000 of 5.4 million deaths (11%) from infectious diseases every year, researchers found.

The study’s first author, Dr Solja Nyberg, of the University of Helsinki, said the problem could worsen. “As obesity rates are expected to rise globally, so will the number of deaths and hospitalisations from infectious diseases linked to obesity.