A Key Perspective to Combat the Severity of COVID-19
- backtothegardenpr
- Aug 13
- 3 min read
Clinical Study: Lifestyle Risk Factors, Inflammatory Mechanisms, and COVID-19 Hospitalization: A Community-Based Cohort Study of 387,109 Adults in the UK
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Currently, the most discussed topics about COVID-19 in the media are how to protect ourselves through social distancing, vaccination, and mask use. It is extremely unusual for the role of healthy lifestyle factors in COVID-19 infection and symptom severity to be discussed. If our main source of education is the media, the connection between lifestyle and COVID-19 is completely overlooked and considered unnecessary. However, evidence has clearly shown that these are vital factors for effectively and efficiently managing the impact of this virus on individuals.
That is why proper education is crucial for personal growth, which is the purpose of this membership and our clinic.
According to this study, which analyzed a large-scale general population for lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, overweight/obesity, and alcohol consumption related to COVID-19, participants included 387,109 individuals, both women and men residing in England. It is important to clarify that the causes of overweight and obesity are rooted in the practices of a typical industrialized diet followed by most of our population. This diet is composed of animal products such as meat, fish, and seafood, animal by-products such as dairy and eggs, and ultra-processed foods. The study found an association between adverse lifestyle practices and high risk of severe COVID-19. These poor lifestyle habits accounted for up to 51% of the population-attributable fraction for severe COVID-19. This means that these habits represent half of the population experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the bulk of scientific evidence, those MOST LIKELY to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19 are adults (especially over 65 years old) with one or more comorbidities. What are these conditions? Some include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, heart disease (including hypertension), overweight, obesity, and others. The conditions listed here are also the leading causes of death in our population. By CAUSALITY, NOT COINCIDENCE, these conditions are primarily generated by adverse lifestyle factors.
Where is the URGENCY, the EDUCATION, the ACTION to guide, educate, and develop urgent strategies to change the habits of our population? They do not exist! That is why our healthcare system, including the educational system and professionals who follow it, are lost in ineffective alternatives that do not address the main issues of our population.
The importance of being physically active, maintaining an ideal body weight, avoiding recreational drugs, getting sun exposure, proper rest, a spiritual practice, and eating a whole-food, plant-based diet without ultra-processed and animal products are the pillars and most important lifestyle factors to succeed in health. No matter how many viruses exist, these pillars must be taught and emphasized constantly for society to remain healthy, educated, and connected to the environment.
For example, studies have shown that individuals who engage in moderate physical activity have optimal protection against COVID-19 infection, while individuals with low levels of physical activity have higher infection rates. One reason for this is that one of the benefits of exercise is strengthening the immune system, anti-inflammatory effects, and adaptive immune responses.
The same occurs when switching to a whole-food, plant-based diet, reducing underlying factors for COVID-19 severity and death: obesity, heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and chronic lung disease.
In conclusion, we live in a time that glorifies remedial solutions for health problems, even when they have not proven to be effective. We live in a time where reinforcing the practice of pillars that have been proven effective in creating a healthy, strong population is not encouraged. It is up to us as individuals to make changes, create new systems in our population, form communities centered on these practices, and gradually shift public education toward true wellness.
In health,Dr. Joanna Frey
References:
Hamer, Mark, et al. “Lifestyle Risk Factors, Inflammatory Mechanisms, and Covid-19 HOSPITALIZATION: A Community-Based Cohort Study of 387,109 Adults in the UK.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, vol. 87, 2020, pp. 184–187., doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.059.
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