According to a study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, having a high body mass index (BMI) rather than having high blood sugar levels is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and prolonged COVID. Dr. Anika Knuppel from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, UK stated that in the early days of the pandemic, several researchers identified diabetes and obesity as risk factors for becoming severely ill with COVID-19 and that their findings show that obesity-related mechanisms are responsible for the excess risks of COVID-19 associated with diabetes rather than high blood sugar.

The study included 31,252 participants between the ages of 19 and 75 years old. The study started with the analysis of previous measurements of HbA1c, weight, height, waist, and hip circumference from each study, as well as information from questionnaires on health and lifestyle. These participants further completed at least one questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic covering questions on COVID-19 that included questions on the length of ongoing COVID-19-related symptoms.

The findings of the study showed that 5,806 participants reported testing positive for COVID-19, and 584 reported having long COVID (around 7% of COVID-19 cases with information on symptoms length). The study further revealed that higher BMI was associated with greater odds of COVID-19 infection, i.e., the risk increased by 7% for every 5kg/m2 increase in BMI. Overweight and obese individuals had 10% and 16% greater odds of COVID-19 infection than healthy-weight individuals, respectively. Similar results were observed for long COVID, i.e., the risk increased by 20% for each 5kg/m2 increase in BMI. Overweight and obese people were 20% and 36% more likely to have long COVID, respectively. 

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/excess-weight-is-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-covid-19-infection-research-101663471925998.html)