Doctors say that they have seen a link between obesity and serious COVID-19 cases.

Researchers confirm that obesity could be a reason why certain communities have been harder hit by COVID-19 than others. In one study of 5,200 infected people, more than a third were obese, and the chances of those people being hospitalized were higher than for other people. The obesity rate in the US is around 42%, and it is most prevalent among Black and Hispanic communities.

Obese people may have a harder time fighting the virus due to other health complications, such as heart disease and diabetes. Serious cases of the coronavirus affect lungs, and doctors say that extra fat could limit the lungs¢¥ ability to expand.

Difficult words: obesity (the state of being overweight), prevalent (widespread), diabetes (a disease in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood), expand (to get bigger).