PARIS - Obese hospital patients are more likely to survive an infectious disease than people of normal weight, according to research that pointed Friday to seemingly paradoxical benefits of a condition loaded with health risks. Overweight patients, researchers said, "were 40 percent less likely to die, and those who were obese 50 percent less likely to die, than those of normal weight." The team had looked at hospital admissions from 2011 to 2015 for their study, which has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. "Compared with normal weight patients without use of a ventilator (less serious cases), overweight patients were 23 percent more likely to survive and obese patients 29 percent more likely to survive," said a statement. Further evidence of an apparent survival benefit came from a fourth study, from the Netherlands, which showed that seriously ill obese patients have lower rates of muscle wasting in hospital.

Source: Bangkok Post May 24, 2018 22:18 UTC