4 ms·

78% of the people hospitalized with Covid have been obese[1]. Almost half had diabetes. Mandates ignore this, and are therefore not logical. At no point in the

• lern_too_spel 5y ago
  The government has always messaged that people should lose weight and exercise, even before the pandemic. It hasn't worked. If you rely on that policy, it will take far longer for society to fully open. Policies to increase vaccination rates have worked spectacularly. That's why governments use them.
  • yucky 5y ago
    >The government has always messaged that people should lose weight and exercise, even before the pandemic. Before the pandemic, yes. I've heard no messaging about this as it relates to Covid though. In fact, when I saw these stats I didn't believe them since I assumed the CDC would have made a bigger point about the correlation between obesity and diabetes to Covid severity.
    • lern_too_spel 5y ago
      Again, what good would that do? Obesity increases mortality across the board, this is widely messaged, and this continues to be widely messaged. Would increasing the messaging around obesity affecting Covid mortality specifically cause any significant difference in hospitalization? I highly doubt it. The same people who don't like the government suggesting that they should get vaccinated would eat fried butter balls in protest, and everybody else would continue as before. Vaccination policies (including mandates), on the other hand, are proven to work and have immediate effect. They are the most logical choice.
      • yucky 5y ago
        >Would increasing the messaging around obesity affecting Covid mortality specifically cause any significant difference in hospitalization? Based on the data, yes. So what would the argument against it be?
        • lern_too_spel 5y ago
          > Based on the data, yes. Once again, what data shows that such messaging would work? I have repeatedly stated that this messaging is highly unlikely to be effective and have given straightforward arguments for why I believe so.
          • yucky 5y ago
            If you told people that the vast majority of people hospitalized with Covid are obese, you don't think that would drive people to address their obesity knowing that Covid is going to be endemic and will always be a threat if they don't?
            • lern_too_spel 5y ago
              That's what I said. No other problem with obesity has caused people to stop being obese. There is no reason to believe that Covid messaging will do that. Worse than that, the people who don't like the government telling them they should get vaccinated also don't like the government telling them they should eat healthier or exercise and will do the opposite on purpose, making the problem worse. The people who aren't in that group who are at risk already got vaccinated.
              • yucky 5y ago
                If we know that obesity is the biggest risk factor for Covid severity, it seems irresponsible not to adjust our messaging to make that crystal clear to everyone.
                • 5y ago
• rsynnott 5y ago
  Governments have been telling people to eat healthier since roughly World War 2. The status of people going to hospital is largely irrelevant; the goal should be to ensure that fewer people do. We know that the government telling people to lose weight is not particularly effective, because, again, governments in the developed world have been trying for decades without much success. More direct methods (eg the sugar taxes/minimum pricing that some European countries have introduced) are looking to be a bit more effective, but you're looking at a slow. However, covid vaccines are known to be very effective, and can be given quickly, so encouraging people to get those is appropriate.