⁍ Evidence suggests people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk of getting more severely ill with COVID-19.

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⁍ The disease is caused by the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus.

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⁍ Scientists are still learning about which specific mechanisms might explain this link.

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– The SARS-CoV2 virus that has killed hundreds and sickened thousands has a new victim: obesity. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that people who are either obese or overweight are more likely to be infected by the virus, the Telegraph reports. “Obesity puts extra pressure and metabolic strain on almost every organ system of the body,” Oxford University professor Susan Jebb tells Reuters. “So it’s perhaps not surprising that it also exacerbates the risk of COVID-19 complications.” Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly what causes the virus to enter the body, but one theory is that people who are obese have higher levels of an enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE2, which is used by the virus to enter cells. People with higher levels of ACE2 in their blood and other tissues are likely to be more susceptible to COVID-19 infection. “The (coronavirus) pandemic really brings to the fore the need to tackle obesity more aggressively,” says Francesco Rubino, an expert on obesity and chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London. “One lesson from the pandemic of COVID-19 is that not treating obesity is not an option.”