Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Impact of Obesity on COVID-19

FIGURE 6.6

Obesity-related comorbidities and mechanisms related to a severe course of COVID-19 Respiratory dysfunction • Impaired respiratory mechanisms • Increased airway resistance • Impaired gas exchange • Low lung volume • Low muscle strength

Obesity

Comorbidities • Cardiovascular disease • Diabetes mellitus • Kidney disease

Severe course of COVID-19

Metabolic risk • Hypertension • Prediabetes • Insulin resistance • Dyslipidaemia Source: Stefan et al. 2020.

severity of COVID-19. Obesity is associated with numerous underlying risk factors for COVID-19, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney or liver disease. Figure 6.6 shows how respiratory d isease, comorbidities, and metabolic risks are all closely associated with obesity; in turn, each of these risk factors has been shown to substantially affect COVID-19. At the same time, the growing evidence detailed in the previous subsections demonstrates that obesity increases the risks of hospitalization, severity, and in some cases death with SARS-CoV-2 infections, thus escalating the likelihood that, as noted, obesity may also independently increase the risk and severity of COVID-19. This section provides an overview of the current understanding of how obesity affects the immunological response to SARS-CoV-2. The subsections review the metabolic impairments linked to COVID-19, consider obesity’s effect on the immune response to COVID-19, look at inflammatory considerations of COVID-19 and obesity, and consider obesity’s impairment of treatment and vaccination strategies.

Obesity’s metabolic impairments are linked to COVID-19 As shown with other conditions, obesity can impact the body’s response to infection. Obesity is a major risk factor for severe cases of certain infectious diseases, such as influenza, hepatitis, and nosocomial infections (Huttunen and Syrjanen 2010, 2013). As with influenza infections, obesity appears to increase COVID-19’s severity. Obesity is inherently a metabolic disease characterized by alterations in systemic metabolism, including insulin resistance, e levated serum glucose, altered adipokines (for example, increased leptin, decreased adiponectin), and chronic low-grade inflammation (Rasouli and Kern 2008; Singla, Bardoloi, and Parkash 2010). Strong evidence demonstrates how hormone and nutrient dysregulation in obesity can impair the response to infection.

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Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Published on Jul 27, 2022

World Bank Publications

Overweight and obesity constitute a major global epidemic that has grown substantially. They are particularly alarming in Saudi Arabia, where more than half of the adult population is overweight and one out of five people are obese. Additionally, the prevalence of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)--such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers--has increased substantially in recent decades, and today they are the leading cause of disability and death in the country. While the causes of overweight and obesity are complex and numerous, several innovative and multisectoral evidence-based interventions are emerging globally. Saudi Arabia has already embarked on the design and implementation of several such interventions and is committed to further expanding and scaling up such efforts in order to meet national goals and achieve results. This book builds on this work by laying out the remaining challenges while highlighting the opportunities lying ahead. The book provides new evidence and analysis on ob

Articles inside

Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Articles inside

8A.5 Example of UK multiple traffic light front-of-package labeling

Annex 8A: Case studies of countries with integrated and systems-based strategies Annex 8B: Examples of applied or recommended nutrient

8.7 Stage 2: Increase the intake of healthy foods in Saudi Arabia 8A.2 Complete set of black seal labels that might be applied on front-of-package

8A.3 Example of campaign among public health advocates in support of Mexico’s front-of-package labeling regulation 8A.4 Example of cereal before (left) and after (right) Chile’s food labeling and

labeling for Mexico based on product characteristics

marketing law

8A.1 Example of campaign material by advocates for the sugar-sweetened beverages tax to fund drinking fountains in schools

Applying a Saudi-specific NPM for transforming the food system

8.6 Stage 1: Reduce the intake of unhealthy foods in Saudi Arabia

approaches

in Saudi Arabia and Chile

References

healthy diets

per capita per day), 2010–19

products

Conclusions

reformulation in Saudi Arabia

7.5 Saudi Arabia’s voluntary traffic light label, 2018

7A.2 Examples of different tax designs and evidence on their effectiveness

Key lessons learned from global experiences

7.3 Trends in carbonated drink volume per capita sales (liters), 2010–18

Obesity-prevention policies and their effectiveness evidence

References

of COVID-19

Conclusions

Summary and conclusions

The impact of obesity on COVID-19

References

Estimating the economic burden using the economic growth approach method

Estimating the economic burden using the value-of-a-statistical-life method

obesity

method

Annex 4B: Supplementary details for intervention assumptions

5.2 Direct medical costs attributable to overweight

Key messages

Results

risk factors

Methods

References

and obesity

References

Socioeconomic and cultural influences

Dietary behaviors contributing to overweight and obesity Physical inactivity as a risk factor in the development of overweight

ages 5–9 years, by sex, 1975–2016

2 Engagement of men and women in sufficient physical activity in