Cellular and Biochemical Mechanisms Driving the Susceptibility of Obese Subjects to Covid-19 Infection

OverweightOverweight is a major global health problem currently affecting almost 2 billion people worldwide. An additional 800 million are obese. These figures showed that 40% of the global adult population aged 18 years, and over are overweight while 14% are obese. What is now worrying is that more than 40 million children worldwide, as young as 5 years of age are either overweight or obese. Individuals with a body mass indexBody mass index (BMI) (BMI) of 25–29 kg/m² are considered to be overweight while obesity is the term used when the BMI is 30 kg/m² and over. Obesity is an imbalance between calorie intake and calorie expenditure. In general, obesity can be caused by excessive eating and reduced physical activityPhysical activity. Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as diabetesDiabetes mellitus, respiratory and liver dysfunctions, sleep apnea, chronic inflammationChronic inflammation, compromised immune system, renal failure, cancerCancer, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseasesCardiovascular disease and others. Obesity is also a major risk factor for coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19COVID-19), which can induce severe cases of pneumonia and sepsis or acute respiratory distress syndromeAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In many cases, Covid-19 causes severe and long-lasting damage to the lungs and other vital organs of the body resulting in death. This review describes the cellular and biochemical mechanism(s) whereby obese patients become susceptible to Covid-19 infection. It also outlines how obesity on its own can affect the lungs, which in turn become more compromised in cases of Covid-19 disease resulting in the imminent death of the patient.