Should people battling obesity get the vaccination sooner?
Sonia Azad:
All right, welcome back. So this is a hot topic today: Texas is among the States that list obesity as an underlying health condition. And so that means that those who are obese qualify for a COVID vaccination under phase 1b… there are a lot of mixed feelings about this one.
So joining me now is healthcare expert and host of the podcast, Civil Discourse, Todd Furniss.
Todd, hello!
Todd Furniss:
How are you?
Sonia Azad:
Great. Okay, let’s first define obesity. And second, why is obesity then considered an underlying health condition?
Todd Furniss:
Well, obesity is a measure of your body weight and your height, given a bunch of other statistics that are available. And the idea is that if your ratio is out of kilter, or if you have too much bodyweight for your size for your frame, then you’re theoretically obese. Now it’s an imperfect measure for a bunch of reasons. However, the issue is not so much what your weight is or isn’t the real issue is all of the things that go along with obesity or are highly correlated to obesity. So for example, frequently people have high cholesterol, they have other blockages, they have pressures put on their organs of other systems that are particularly and acutely affected when they get COVID.
Sonia Azad:
And so the thought behind this decision to include folks in this, you know, 1b category who are struggling with obesity really comes down to the fact that people who are obese are more likely to have worse outcomes from COVID-19. And also I’ve heard from healthcare workers and professionals that it’s harder to intubate them if that becomes necessary.
Todd Furniss:
You’re exactly right, Sonia, and the fact that the timing of your inquiry here is perfect because the CDC came out today and said that 78% of those hospitalized intubated or who died from COVID had obesity or were obese. So there’s a correlation between the systemic challenges that are placed on one’s body when you are obese. And I would also point out buried in the study, there’s also the point made by the CDC that if you’re particularly underweight, you also have problems. So the idea of having access to a vaccine when you were in that high of a risk category is very, very important.
Sonia Azad:
I hadn’t heard that about underweight. That’s interesting to me… I’m going to look into that as well. BMI, and we talked about this a little bit, sort of that formula that technically measures obesity. What do people need to know if you’re kind of walking around going, “I don’t know my BMI… how can I measure that? How important is it?”
Todd Furniss:
It is, it is increasingly important. And again, it’s an imperfect measure. The best and safest way, of course, is to go to your primary care physician and get it measured. But there are all sorts of scales and other devices available now that commercially available at retail stores that can measure your BMI. Again, I recommend that you go to see your primary care physician as soon as possible. This is something I wrote about in my book, The 60% Solution. It really strongly advocates the greater use of your primary care physician.
Sonia Azad:
Yeah. I feel like especially in the last year, people may have experienced a fluctuating BMI — maybe without even knowing it — since we’ve been at home and a little more sedentary. So, I agree with you about going to see your doctor. Finally, what if your BMI is 30, but maybe you don’t consider yourself obese. Should you get this vaccine? At what point do you kind of have to, uh, have an honest conversation with yourself?
Todd Furniss:
Well, I think that’s exactly the point. You have to have an honest conversation with yourself because unless you’re a particularly athletic person or you’re a bodybuilder of sorts, then having a high BMI is not a healthy thing over time, you’re going to have problems. Either you’re going to have problems with your organs or you’re gonna have problems with joints or both. So, going to see your physician sooner rather than later is critical because the real issue is making sure you understand the health problems you have before so that you can take precautionary measures or proactive measures to mitigate those.
Sonia Azad:
Yeah. All great information. Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. Really appreciate it.
Todd Furniss:
Thanks so much for having me.
Sonia Azad:
All right. Y’all we’re back in about two minutes.