Watching the first presidential debate, many things stood out. Among them, one crucial but still largely overlooked issue was the absence of any meaningful questions or discussion on one of the most important challenges and opportunities facing our nation.
As cardiologists from Michigan and Massachusetts who study how policy can be leveraged to save lives, we have a message for the candidates and the debate moderators: its time to fix food.
At current rates, COVID-19 will claim a quarter of a million American lives by Election Day. The current national plan to address the virus is heavily focused on creating a vaccine: $12.6 billion committed to-date. We need a vaccine. Yet, at the same time, comparable focus should be given to treatment to reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections. Unfortunately, treatment has received relatively little national emphasis or investment. For our country to successfully conquer COVID-19, the current nominees, and the next president, must make this a top priority. Figuring out how to leverage healthier eating tops the list.
The powerful linkages between diet-related poor metabolic health and how sick a person becomes when infected by COVID-19 are now well documented but widely underappreciated. A 35-year old infected with COVID-19 who also has obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or a handful of other less common conditions, has the samerisk of hospitalizationas a75-year oldinfected with COVID-19 who has none of those comorbidities. These diet-driven metabolic conditions are a top risk for critical illness with COVID-19; each independently increases risk of severe illness about two-fold. And these risks are cumulative:a person with diabetes, high blood pressureandobesity would be expected to have about aneight-foldhigher risk of hospitalization.
What if we start reversing these conditions in the U.S.? Can you imagine if we identified a drug that might reduce the risk of being hospitalized from COVID-19 by many fold, within a few months? Our national government would be investing billions of dollars to test such a drug. Such a treatment, by greatly reducing the severity of COVID-19 infections, would also help schools and universities to reopen, businesses to restart and help our lives and economy to return toward normal. Notably, even when an effective vaccine is developed, it could take many more months and would likely take even longer to be widely delivered. Despite development of a vaccine, an effective, safe treatment to reduce the severity of COVID-19 among those who still get infected will remain incredibly important.
Better nutrition holds this promise. COVID-19 is like a heat-seeking missile for poor metabolic health. This fast pandemic is far worse because its hitting us on top of a slow pandemic of diet-related diseases, like diabetes, obesity and other conditions. More Americansdie prematurelyfrom a poor dietthan any other risk factor. This year, about 500,000 Americans will die from diet-induced diseases. These deaths, like COVID-19, also disproportionately affect Black and Brown Americans, through long-standing systems of structural racism that are in large partmediated through lifestyle and diet-related metabolic risk factors.Its time to address these inequities.
Crucially, healthy eating doesnt require years to work. Changes in our food choices can alter metabolic health within six to eight weeks, even with no weight loss. And, of course, improving diet can also significantly improve our weight over just a few months. Were not talking about years, but just months to see and test potential benefits.
The potential for food-related actions to bend the curve of COVID-19 must be prioritized by federal, state and local governments. For our nations presidential candidates, we call for the following actions:
Sensible food and nutrition policy can help reduce the severity of COVID-19, restore our shattered economy, improve national resilience toward future threats and be a major step toward health equity. Such policies can also save hundreds of thousands of Americans from premature disability, suffering and death each year. Governments in theU.K.andMexicoare recognizing this need and they are taking action. Its time we demand the same from our presidential candidates and the next administration.
Eric J. Brandt, MD, MHS., is a clinical lecturer for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School.
Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, is dean and professor at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and professor of medicine at Tufts School of Medicine.
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COVID-19, food and nutrition, and the presidential debates | TheHill - The Hill
