Body Mass Index (BMI) News and Research

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that relates body weight to height. BMI is sometimes used to measure total body fat and whether a person is a healthy weight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart disease and some cancers.

Genetic analysis reveals novel traits associated with COVID-19 severity

Researchers in the United States have conducted genetic correlation studies revealing novel traits associated with the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Dec 2020

Study: Structural racism has material impact on health of ethnic minorities, immigrants

Structural racism can lead to discrimination in many aspects of life including criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education.

15 Dec 2020

Obesity increases the risk of severe COVID-19, study finds

Researchers reveal that being overweight and obese are common risk factors for developing severe COVID-19. However, they suggested further assessment of metabolic parameters, including body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, and insulin levels, to estimate the risk.

9 Dec 2020

More years of obesity means higher risk of disease, study finds

The results of a new study have revealed that the duration of obesity is correlated with worse values for all cardiometabolic disease factors.

8 Dec 2020

Black patients hospitalized with COVID-19 less likely to have severe illness, die compared to Whites

While multiple research studies show that Black and Hispanic patients are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, a team of investigators at NYU Langone Health has found that once hospitalized, Black patients (after controlling for other serious health conditions and neighborhood income) were less likely to have severe illness, die, or be discharged to hospice compared to White patients.

5 Dec 2020

Automated AI measurement of abdominal fat predicts major cardiovascular events

Automated deep learning analysis of abdominal CT images produces a more precise measurement of body composition and predicts major cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, better than overall weight or body mass index (BMI), according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

2 Dec 2020

Which dietary supplements can help prevent COVID-19?

Researchers explore dietary supplement usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 Dec 2020

$Obesity linked with risk of early hip fracture in postmenopausal women$

Obesity linked with risk of early hip fracture in postmenopausal women

Obese women have an increased risk of hip fracture earlier than others, already well before the age of 70, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The study followed 12,715 women for a period of 25 years. The new findings from the Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) study were published in Osteoporosis International.

1 Dec 2020

$Are bone fractures more common in non-meat eaters?$

Are bone fractures more common in non-meat eaters?

A new study has found that in comparison with people who eat meat, vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians may be at a higher risk of hip fractures.

20 Nov 2020

Countries worldwide should promote good nutrition for school-aged children

Countries worldwide need to increase emphasis on the need for healthy nutrition from childhood, including school years to adulthood, to help in brain development, a scientist says.

19 Nov 2020

Study shows limited influence of BMI on shaping SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses

A new study by researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard showed that obesity is not tied to the increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the team demonstrated that obesity is associated with increased manifestations of symptoms in mild COVID-19 infections, suggesting that obesity impacts the pathophysiology of COVID-19.

16 Nov 2020

Individuals with high BMI and LDL cholesterol are at increased risk of COVID-19

A new study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London uses a novel approach to investigate the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the risk of COVID-19 infection.

16 Nov 2020

Severe COVID-19 linked to age, body mass index and ABO blood group

With the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infecting over 50 million people worldwide with hundreds of thousands experiencing severe respiratory illness, researchers have been trying to find the factors associated with severe disease. From the start of the pandemic in March this year, several studies have indicated heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. could be linked to severe disease. Now German researchers have published a study on the association between severe respiratory infection caused by SARS CoV-2 and factors such as age, body mass index (BMI) and ABO blood group.

10 Nov 2020

Study highlights racial disparities in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

A new study reveals that Black patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were less likely to be prescribed a biologic treatment and more likely to use glucocorticoids, which carry a risk of serious long-term side effects.

6 Nov 2020

Early life exposure to air pollution may increase children's body mass index

Exposure to higher air pollution levels and greater population density during the early months of life may be associated with an increase in children's body mass index (BMI).

27 Oct 2020

New model could help identify people at risk for long COVID

Researchers in the UK, United States, and Sweden have presented new findings that could help identify individuals at risk of "long COVID" – a protracted course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms last for more than 28 days.

22 Oct 2020

Obese persons have greater risk of developing severe COVID-19

The probability that an obese person will develop severe COVID-19 is high regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, and the presence of co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart or lung disease, according to a study by Brazilian researchers published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.

15 Oct 2020

Microstructural brain differences linked to waist circumference and BMI in children

Differences in the microstructure of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a region in the brain that plays an important role in processing food and other reward stimuli, predict increases in indicators of obesity in children, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and nine other institutes, all part of the National Institutes of Health.

13 Oct 2020

Older heavier COVID-19 positives likely to be superspreaders

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 is known to be through respiratory droplets as well as via aerosols, composed of minute particles normally exhaled during natural breathing.

6 Oct 2020

Plasma ACE2 concentration associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular events

A team of scientists at the Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences, and McMaster University, Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, revealed that increased plasma ACE2 levels in the blood could indicate a higher risk of major cardiovascular events. The study is published in the journal The Lancet.