<Anchor>
It is a well-known fact that the elderly are vulnerable to COVID-19.
However, it is not possible to be reassured just because you are young. When we surveyed young severely ill patients, 7 out of 10 were found to be 'obese'.
Medical reporter Yoo Seung-hyun explains the reason.
<Reporter>
Mr. A in his 40s was diagnosed with Corona 19 two months ago.
He was relatively young, so I thought he would pass easily, but he wasn't.
[Mr A/40s: I keep coughing, but the cough is getting worse.
He took ten days' worth of (medication) and he didn't feel any better.
Even now, I am still coughing and I am thinking about whether I should take a picture of the lungs.]
Mr. A's body mass index, that is, weight divided by the square of his height is 34.
It is not only over 25, the Korean obesity standard, but also over 30, the Western standard.
An analysis of 142 patients under 50 years of age who were hospitalized at 11 medical institutions in Korea showed that 69.7% of them were 'obese' with a body mass index of 25 or higher.
The obesity rate among the general population is almost double that of 38.3%.
It is similar to the results of overseas studies that show that the inflammatory response in the body becomes stronger when the coronavirus infects immune cells in adipose tissue than other tissues.
[Shi Hye-jin/Professor of Infectious Diseases, Gachon University Gil Hospital: Corona virus penetrates into the body through angiotensin receptors, and it is expressed very much in mast cells.]
The coronavirus makes blood more sticky, but obese patients This is easy to do and increases the risk of complications.
The importance of vaccination was also reaffirmed in this study.
All eight deaths under the age of 50 were not fully vaccinated.
If you don't get the vaccine and don't manage your weight, it means that even young people cannot be safe from Corona.