Since the very beginning of the pandemic, it was pretty clear that some would be affected by the COVID-19 virus more than others, namely the elderly, cancer patients and people with weakened immunity in general.
Furthermore, those who are overweight or obese struggle with infection more than those who do not have weight problems as well.
As a result, many have been getting bariatric surgery in order to reduce their coronavirus risks!
One of these people is Miranda Slowey, who has already gone through the procedure and feels great.
The mother of 3 shared that while she feels much more confident and healthy overall after dropping more than 100 pounds, one of the main reasons she got the surgery was her fear of COVID complications.
“It just kind of gave me a wake-up call. It was a co-morbidity, and it was a big one!”
Sure enough, the Centers for Disease Control explains that COVID patients with BMIs of over 30 are actually no less than three times more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to go through respiratory failure and that is a really scary statistic!
Dr. Madhu Siddeswarappa from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, who operated on Slowey, stated that “It is really clear that obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality with COVID.”
The risks scared the mother of three and she decided she had to do something for her sake and for the sake of her kids.
“I needed help. I finally realized that the yo-yo dieting that I had tried on my own for years wasn’t working for me and I had to swallow my pride a bit and reach out for help.”
Dr. Siddeswarappa is not surprised that more and more people are now seeking to go through this procedure than ever before.
“It’s a no brainer. This [the pandemic] has created more awareness amongst people. They have seen it with their very own eyes, how bad COVID affected people with morbid obesity.”
The risk factors coming with the surgery are also significantly lower than the ones associated with obesity, including the ones COVID-19 causes in overweight people.
Not to mention that bariatric surgery comes with a number of other amazing benefits, lowering people’s risks of developing other scary diseases as well, including prostate, colon and breast cancer, as well as heart disease, diabetes and more!
