Obesity causes stress and disruption of several tissues, with inflammation mainly in the tissues, gut and respiratory tract. The stress and inflammation determine the altered activation of leucocyte cells. These changes impair the immune response, increasing the risk for the evolution of infections to severe disease, and might be the leading causes for increased death rate in patients with obesity and COVID-19.
In addition to disruption of the immune system, obesity can result in metabolic dysfunction leading to dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and CVD, all of which increase patients’ vulnerability to COVID-19 infection. Thus, obesity plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19.