Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of obesity on the intensity of covid-19 (a) symptoms and (b) mortality rate.

Public Health England published a report reviewing the evidence relating to COVID-19 and its association with obesity in July 2020. The review found an increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 in people living with obesity or morbid obesity. The evidence suggests that excess weight is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation, advanced levels of treatment and death from COVID-19. The risks increase progressively with increasing body mass index above the healthy weight range. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/excess-weight-and-covid-19-insights-from-new-evidence