The results of the largest study to date of coronavirus patients outside China was published Friday.
According to Business Insider, researchers analyzed data from 20,133 patients hospitalized across the UK.
The study identified four major risk factors that can make a person more susceptible to severe illness or death from COVID-19.
The factors were age, male sex, obesity, and underlying conditions affecting the heart, lungs, kidney, or liver.
It's the first time obesity has been highlighted as a risk factor in a study of this scale.
Obesity could make coronavirus patients more vulnerable to severe illness.