Determining whether ethnic minorities with severe obesity face a disproportionate risk of serious disease and death from COVID-19: outcomes from a Southern California-based retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Obesity has been recognised as a risk factor for poor outcomes associated with COVID-19. Ethnic minorities with COVID-19 have been independently found to fare poorly. We aim to determine if ethnic minorities with severe obesity-defined as a body mass index (BMI) above 40 kg/m²-experience higher rates of hospitalisation, invasive ventilation and death.