Covid-19: Obesity brings serious complications

Western countries with higher rates of obesity are seeing more deaths from coronavirus than Asian countries with less obesity, the World Obesity Federation's Dr Olivia Cavalcanti has said.

She told BBC World News it was not clear why overweight people were more at risk, but could be due to an inflammatory response of the body.

Political inaction on obesity is also economically costly, Dr Olivia Cavalcant said, explaining that the long term goals of dealing with chronic diseases like obesity are so far into the future that people tend not to take action or understand the urgency.