Extreme measures in response to COVID-19 make us wonder: Are there any other current health problems like COVID-19?

The answer could be obesity. 1 in 5 Americans have died every year from obesity-related causes. That’s about 500,000 deaths in 2019 alone. The death toll is astounding. Yet the government’s response to obesity is nothing like its response to COVID-19.

In addition, obesity is contagious, according to a Harvard Medicine and UCSD study.

And the long-term effects of obesity perhaps outnumber and outweigh those of COVID-19.

Potential Long-Term Effects

The following are increased risks associated with COVID-19 and Obesity:

COVID-19

1. Difficulty Thinking

2. Shortness of Breath

3. Heart Arrhythmia

4. Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

5. Fatigue

6. Muscle and Joint Pain

7. Insomnia

Obesity

1. All Causes of Death

2. Dementia and Cognitive Decline

3. Shortness of Breath

4. Cardiovascular Complications (Heart Attack, Stroke, more)

5. Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

6. Cancer (breast, cervix, colon, esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas, prostate, uterus)

7. Clinical Depression, Anxiety, other Mental Disorders

8. Back and Joint Pain, Osteoarthritis

9. Fatty Liver Disease

10. Reproductive Disorders

11. Gallstones

12.Psuedotumor Cerebri

13.Stress Incontinence

14. Skin Infections

15. Leg Swelling and Blood Clots

16. High Cholesterol