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Correct. For the vast majority of the population, COVID is already like the flu, but as you pointed out, a large enough percentage of the population (particula

by JPKab 5y ago

Correct. For the vast majority of the population, COVID is already like the flu, but as you pointed out, a large enough percentage of the population (particularly obese/elderly/immune compromised) of people who contract it are at risk of hospitalization that it creates a lot of anxiety about hospital capacity. We're currently getting two pieces of good news on COVID: This pill, and perhaps more importantly for the majority of people on the planet who won't have the ability to get this pill, the data on Omicron is currently showing a divergence (compared to previous waves) of cases and deaths. This divergence is rather apparent by looking at graphs of South Africa. Previous spikes in cases resulted in corresponding (lagging by a few days) spikes in deaths. Omicron isn't showing this. Click between cases and deaths on this chart to see for yourself: https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=zaf&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=usct&areasRegional=usor&areasRegional=usga&cumulative=0&logScale=0&per100K=1&startDate=2020-01-01&values=cases https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=zaf&are...

jdavis703 5y ago
Most of the American population is overweight* or has some other comorbidity like diabetes or high blood pressure. * Many public health authorities consider being overweight (and just obese) to be a risk factor.
- JPKab 5y ago
  The numbers are the numbers. # of hospitalizations/# of cases is not a high number. It doesn't have to be a high number to overwhelm hospitals, I get that. But it's still a small percentage. When I caught it in February, before I was eligible for the vaccine, I was shocked by the reaction of most of my peers. They seemed surprised by my mild symptoms. The American public, as a whole, overestimates their own risk of hospitalization by orders of magnitude. You can be angry at me for recklessly stating this, and not piously pretending like the risk is evenly spread, but I'm not going to join in a mass delusion of pretending like 15 year old kids are statistically at risk from this virus. They aren't. The distributions of cases and deaths by age group on this CDC dashboard are striking: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics
sergiotapia 5y ago
Precisely why I started a strict 1800 calorie cutting diet and working out six times a week. Already down 11kg. Obesity makes you severely at risk yet it's not really highlighted by the news. They make it seem like everybody is at severe risk. If anyone else wants to lose weight, it's simple but very difficult. It will test your discipline. Find out your TDEE using this https://tdeecalculator.net/ https://tdeecalculator.net/, subtract 500 and boom that's your ceiling. Don't eat anything beyond that. Use myfitnesspal to track calories and weigh your food using a scale. That simple. If you work out you will lose weight even quicker. You will succeed or fail in the kitchen. The gym is just gravy on top - fight your battle in the kitchen. It's simple but _very_ difficult. Easily the hardest thing I've done in my life.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  It is my understanding that most weight loss attempts are rather successful at the beginning (several weeks), they tend to slide towards a plateau in a few months and it is a real challenge not to gain the lost weight back in a year or two. Long term success rate seems to be around 20 per cent. [0] At the risk of sounding stupid or glib, the best strategy is "not to play", e.g. never gain the extra weight in the first place. Which may not be feasible for people who grow up in fat families and already reach adulthood as obese. But the still-nonobese people should be vigilant. [0] ... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002825/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002825/
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

by JPKab 5y ago

jdavis703 5y ago

Most of the American population is overweight* or has some other comorbidity like diabetes or high blood pressure. * Many public health authorities consider being overweight (and just obese) to be a risk factor.

JPKab 5y ago
The numbers are the numbers. # of hospitalizations/# of cases is not a high number. It doesn't have to be a high number to overwhelm hospitals, I get that. But it's still a small percentage. When I caught it in February, before I was eligible for the vaccine, I was shocked by the reaction of most of my peers. They seemed surprised by my mild symptoms. The American public, as a whole, overestimates their own risk of hospitalization by orders of magnitude. You can be angry at me for recklessly stating this, and not piously pretending like the risk is evenly spread, but I'm not going to join in a mass delusion of pretending like 15 year old kids are statistically at risk from this virus. They aren't. The distributions of cases and deaths by age group on this CDC dashboard are striking: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics

sergiotapia 5y ago

Precisely why I started a strict 1800 calorie cutting diet and working out six times a week. Already down 11kg. Obesity makes you severely at risk yet it's not really highlighted by the news. They make it seem like everybody is at severe risk. If anyone else wants to lose weight, it's simple but very difficult. It will test your discipline. Find out your TDEE using this https://tdeecalculator.net/ https://tdeecalculator.net/, subtract 500 and boom that's your ceiling. Don't eat anything beyond that. Use myfitnesspal to track calories and weigh your food using a scale. That simple. If you work out you will lose weight even quicker. You will succeed or fail in the kitchen. The gym is just gravy on top - fight your battle in the kitchen. It's simple but _very_ difficult. Easily the hardest thing I've done in my life.

inglor_cz 5y ago
It is my understanding that most weight loss attempts are rather successful at the beginning (several weeks), they tend to slide towards a plateau in a few months and it is a real challenge not to gain the lost weight back in a year or two. Long term success rate seems to be around 20 per cent. [0] At the risk of sounding stupid or glib, the best strategy is "not to play", e.g. never gain the extra weight in the first place. Which may not be feasible for people who grow up in fat families and already reach adulthood as obese. But the still-nonobese people should be vigilant. [0] ... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002825/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002825/
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]