CDC Study Shows Link Between Obesity and Severe COVID-19 Illness
The Claim
78% of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID19 are obese people.
News posted on
Emerging story
On April 6th, 2021, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed “78% of hospitalizations and deaths from #COVID19 are OBESE people."
The claim soon took off on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be misleading.
In a follow-up tweet, Marjorie Taylor Greene linked to a CNBC article where she appeared to have received and misinterpreted some information. The article she linked to says “About 78% of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new study Monday.” The data clearly says that 27.8% were overweight and 50.2% were obese, not 78% obese like Greene has claimed.
According to the CDC, an adult person is considered overweight when their BMI is between 25 and 29.9. For someone is who 5 feet and 9 inches tall, this means that they would be considered overweight if they weigh between 169 and 202 lbs. Obesity is classified as having a BMI higher than 30, meaning a 5’9” person would weigh more than 203 pounds to be considered obese.
A 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found that 31.1% of U.S adults are overweight, while the CDC study found that 42.4% of U.S. adults are obese. This means that overweight and obese people account for 73.7% of the total U.S. adult population.
This data clearly shows a link between a higher BMI and risk of severe illness from COVID-19, but it is important to note that the numbers shared by Marjorie Taylor Greene are not correct.
