Now researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body…nytimes.com, The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find, Roni Caryn Rabin. 2021
The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, but it was posted online in October.
If the findings hold up, they may shed light not just on why patients with excess pounds are vulnerable to the virus, but also on why certain younger adults with no other risks become so ill.
The finding is particularly relevant to the United States, which has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. Most American adults are overweight, and 42 percent have obesity.
