The article about obesity was interesting:
In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's report on death and disease, researchers documented the case of ten swine flu patients at a Michigan hospital who became so ill they were put on ventilators. Three of the patients ultimately died from the infection. The kicker? Nine of the ten were obese, and two of the three who died were severely obese.
As reported by Reuters, CDC virologist Dr. Tim Uyeki said, "What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients."
Notably, five of the patients showed evidence of blood clots in their lungs, indicating severe cellular trauma in the lungs. Nine of the patients suffered from multiple organ failure, and six experienced kidney failure.
The bottom line in this study is quite clear: Don't be obese during the next pandemic. If you are obese now, let this bit of knowledge provide whatever extra motivation you need to drop some excess body fat and reduce the inflammatory burden on your body's organs. Obesity is, after all, readily reversed through simple changes in diet and exercise habits.
Thank you for the very interesting and informative link.