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THURSDAY, July 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Even mild obesity significantly drives up the risk for serious illness or death among COVID-19 patients, researchers from Italy report. "Health care practitioners should be aware that people with any grade of obesity, not just the severely obese, are a population at risk," said study lead author Dr. Matteo Rottoli. "Extra caution should be used for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with obesity, as they are likely to experience a quick deterioration towards respiratory failure, and to require intensive care admission," added Rottoli, a senior assistant professor of surgery at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. The finding is not the first to link obesity to worse COVID outcomes. However, most studies have focused on patients...

THURSDAY, July 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As America neared the milestone of 4 million coronavirus cases on Thursday and the daily death toll topped 1,000 for the second day running, states across the country scrambled to contend with the spread of COVID-19. California recorded new highs in both coronavirus cases and deaths on Wednesday, The New York Times reported. With more than 422,000 cases, California's case tally has now eclipsed that of New York, the early epicenter of the U.S. pandemic. Other states posted records as well: Missouri, North Dakota and West Virginia recorded their highest daily case numbers on Wednesday, while Alabama, Idaho and Texas reported daily COVID-19 death records, the Times said. In the face of climbing case counts and deaths, President Donald...

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A ton of dangerous lead dust may have been deposited around Notre Dame cathedral in Paris when it burned in April 2019 -- far more than had been estimated, a new study suggests. The cathedral's roof and spire were covered in 460 tons of lead -- a neurotoxic metal that's especially dangerous to children -- and questions have been raised about how much lead was released into nearby neighborhoods. An analysis of 100 soil samples from sites around the cathedral concluded that 2,200 pounds of lead dust landed within 1 kilometer (0.6 of a mile). That's six times the current estimate for lead fallout within 12 miles of the site. Lead levels downwind were twice that in areas outside the smoke plume's path, the study found. For a brief time,...

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Coffee has been tied to many potential health benefits, but people should drink it for pleasure, and not disease prevention. That's one of the main conclusions of a new research review. In it, researchers give an overview of the evidence on coffee and caffeine -- the subjects of many health studies over the years. "The impact of coffee consumption on health is important because there are few other dietary factors that so many people across the world are so frequently exposed to," said Rob van Dam, the lead author on the review. And overall, his team found, the news is good for coffee lovers: Caffeinated coffee does not appear to raise any disease risks, and is instead linked to lower odds of various diseases. And moderate doses of...