Tackling obesity key to cutting risk of COVID-19 complications

Saudi Arabia announced 27 more deaths from COVID-19 and 816 new cases of the disease on Wednesday. (File/Reuters)

• Health Ministry reports 816 new coronavirus cases, 996 recoveries, 27 deaths

JEDDAH: Overweight or obese people needed to change their lifestyle habits or run the risk of complications in the event of contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Saudi health officials have warned.
There was no time like the present to adopt a healthier approach to eating, said Saudi assistant minister of health and ministry spokesman, Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly.
“Obese people are in the high-risk category. Obesity that is considered to cause diseases has a higher chance of causing complications in COVID-19 patients.
“It is important to remind ourselves and those around us that this is an opportunity to change our lifestyle and take care of our health; it is an opportunity to return to your ideal weight.
“It is important not only to protect oneself from the virus and its complications, but a wide spectrum of diseases related to obesity,” he added.
Al-Aly pointed out the vital need for people to continue to follow health and safety rules aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“Since the pandemic is still ongoing, we should continue to take precautionary measures including wearing a mask, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings. We can return carefully following these instructions,” he said.
He noted that COVID-19 patients should try to avoid becoming overconcerned about their health as excessive worrying could have a damaging effect on emotional and physical well-being.
“Being overly fearful and anxious is not acceptable. An overreaction is sometimes worse than contracting a certain disease. COVID-19 patients must not panic and should remind themselves that most cases are curable, and most patients have recovered and responded well to treatment, even critical ones.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that another 27 people had died after contracting COVID-19, taking the death toll to 3,956. There were 816 new cases reported in the Kingdom, meaning 317,486 people had now had the disease. Officials said 21,020 cases were active, with 1,523 patients in critical condition.
According to the Ministry of Health, Madinah and Hail recorded the highest number of new cases in the Kingdom with 45 each, while Riyadh reported 44, and Jeddah 43.
In addition, 996 more patients had recovered from COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 292,510.
Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 5,160,518 polymerase chain reaction tests, with 52,643 checks having been carried out in the last 24-hour period.