Lourdes Sanvicente, 45, left, and a coworker wear protective face masks at the direction of the stand鈥檚 owner, as they sell tamales, sandwiches, and pastries at a street stand in Mexico City, Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Sanvicente, who doubts the existence of the new coronavirus, says both she and her husband work as street food sellers, together earning 320 pesos (around $13.50) per day to support themselves and their five children. 鈥淭here is no other option,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 have to provide for my kids.鈥� (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
MEXICO CITY 鈥� The coronavirus pandemic could be especially deadly in Mexico because of the country鈥檚 high rates of obesity and diabetes, a coalition of consumer and health advocacy groups has said.
The Alliance for Food Health said in a report that four of the first five coronavirus deaths in Mexico involved people with diabetes.
Mexico has the highest diabetes rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and one of the highest obesity rates, with 72.5% of adults overweight or obese.
Paulina Maga帽a, a researcher for Consumer Power, said Mexico鈥檚 11 million diabetes cases 鈥渕ake this scenario a petri dish for COVID-19,鈥� the disease caused by the virus.
Experts said underlying conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity can make health outcomes far worse for coronavirus patients. For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
Abelardo 脕vila, a researcher at the National Institute for Medical Sciences and Nutrition, said, 鈥淭he majority of the deaths that will occur in Mexico during the current epidemic will be associated with the serious problem of obesity.