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While the attention has been focused on the national COVID-19 epicenter in New York, a startling reality is emerging from other areas of the country.

Things are looking particularly worrisome in Louisiana. In the time since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, ample improvements have been made to their health care system and medical responsiveness. Yet, as cases of the novel-coronavirus continue to climb in the Pelican State, the published case fatality rate in this section of the country is alarmingly high.

So far, it is twice that reported in New York City. According to 2018 data, New York had 2.7 hospital beds per 100,000 people while Louisiana had 3.3. So why is it that people throughout the state, especially in the St. John Parish area, have the highest death rate from COVID-19 in the country?

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We know the answer is complicated and heavily depends on the level of testing, isolation and social-distancing, however, a more ominous reason may lie within the individuals living in this part of the country.

Although every person is at risk for falling ill from SARS-CoV-2, there are known risk factors that are associated with a severe course of disease.

In New York City, the leading risk factor for death has been age, with nearly 50% of deaths in those over 75 years of age. However, approximately 80 percent of the people who have died in New York City from this illness had some form of underlying chronic medical issue, oftentimes only a mild pre-existing condition.

In contrast, Louisiana is only a couple weeks behind New York in its COVID-19 course, however early data from the region is showing the largest factor to be an existing chronic medical disease. In fact, over 97 percent of people dying in Louisiana from COVID-19 have a prior illness, most often cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Oftentimes, these two ailments accompany or are a direct result of excess body fat in the form of obesity.

Not a single one of us is immune to the possibility of becoming obese and developing illness. While we live in the greatest nation in the world with our economic freedoms and access to innovation, we are our own weakest link by not being healthier when this pandemic invaded our borders.

According to 2018 CDC data, approximately 42 percent of American adults are considered obese, with the Southeast having the largest percent of obesity per population. The burden of obesity goes far beyond vanity since obesity-related illnesses (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) comprise a significant amount of the leading causes of preventable, premature death.

Before the outbreak, nearly one in five American deaths were associated with poor diet alone. The novel-coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the globe due to its highly contagious nature, asymptomatic spread and relatively high mortality rate. However, the hard to swallow truth is, many Americans are now dying from COVID-19, and at a rapid pace in Louisiana, because of a lifetime of unhealthy eating and sedentary living rendering them vulnerable to this illness.

The two proven methods we have witnessed to slow or even stop the COVID-19 pandemic are personal responsibility and medical innovation; Americans are much better at the second one. We already have promising results in terms of potential treatments, a plethora of tests about to hit the market to help identify and mitigate spread, all while many intelligent people are working round the clock on a vaccine.

Not only do we have the public and private sector working together on the above innovations, but the private manufacturing industry has stepped up to help supply the needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that we have found ourselves lacking.

As Americans are stepping up in our actions, some people are wrongly applauding authoritarian methods, despite evidence China has been dishonest about their data of the virus.

All the while, supporters of single-payer health care claim a more draconian, nationalized system would solve our problem. However, looking at the tragedy underway in Spain and Italy as they struggle to provide medical care prove otherwise with fatality rates being reported up to 5 times that demonstrated in the United States.

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Interestingly though, Japan and Taiwan thus far have the greatest results thanks to a generally healthy population and established culture rewarding precautionary action.

There are many aspects of this pandemic we as individuals have little control over, however, as these countries have illustrated, it is not completely out of our reach to protect ourselves from this and future health crises.

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The presence of obesity and subsequent chronic disease is not restricted to Louisiana but extends across the United States to other areas with high obesity rates like Mississippi, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa and even Alaska.

As we find ourselves confined to the walls of our homes to slow the spread of COVID-19, I am concerned we are binging on Netflix and munching on potato chips as we are “protecting” ourselves from the virus. While we are safer at home avoiding the infection, an abundance of screen time and junk food will only make things worse for us.

I’m not a perfect example myself. I do not get enough sleep, miss more daily workouts than I should, pick from the leftover Halloween candy all year and have decided pretzel thins with spicy guacamole may be my favorite quarantine snack.

Bottom line: life gets in the way for all of us aspiring to live healthily.

The rising number of deaths reported in our country because of underlying chronic illness and obesity should alarm everyone. Not a single one of us is immune to the possibility of becoming obese and developing illness. While we live in the greatest nation in the world with our economic freedoms and access to innovation, we are our own weakest link by not being healthier when this pandemic invaded our borders.

While my house is far from a wellness retreat experience, I am also making sure that my family and I are eating the colors of the rainbow every day by having ample fruits, vegetables and lean proteins in our diets as much as I can.

We are also outdoors being active when the work is finished and the sun is out. If it’s bad weather outside, we are interacting indoors playing board games, reading together and having movie nights.

The combination of a healthy diet, physical activity and social interaction while adhering to the social-distance recommendations will give us the best chance of not only immediate wellness but long-term mental and physical health for us all.

It’s never too late to start taking charge of your own health, whether that’s deciding to wear a mask to the grocery store temporarily or deciding to make better, long-term choices while you’re walking through the food aisles.

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If you are making the effort to avoid this virus why not take it one step further and change your diet? Try it today.

Your life depends on it.

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