Losing weight is bad for Covid Lower risks than serious cases

Bariatric surgery and the consequent weight loss would significantly reduce the risk of serious consequences related to Covid 19 infection. This is suggested by a new study carried out by the team of the Obesity Surgery Center of the San Marco di Zingonia Polyclinic – center of excellence Sicob (Italian Society of Obesity Surgery and Matabolic Diseases) among the most important in Italy for cases and results, just published in the international scientific journal “Obesity Surgery”, the most authoritative and prestigious in this field.

«Covid-19 and Obesity: Is Bariatric Surgery Protective? Retrospective Analysis on 2145 Patients Undergone Bariatric-Metabolic Surgery from High Volume Center in Italy (Lombardy) “- this is the title of the study – aimed to investigate the incidence and consequences of Covid 19 infection in over 2,000 patients undergoing bariatric surgery. “As evidenced by various researches – underlines Dr. Stefano Olmi, head of the General and Oncological Surgery Unit and of the Obesity Surgery Center of the San Marco Polyclinic – obesity represents a potential risk factor in case of Covid infection 19 and obese patients therefore require greater vigilance, a priority in carrying out tests for the diagnosis of Covid and more aggressive therapy

. The greater fragility of obese patients, in particular towards Covid 19 infection, derives from a reduced elasticity of the chest wall and a lower efficiency of the respiratory system which – as we know – is a fundamental aspect at least in the first phase of infection.

There are also emerging data indicating that obesity is an independent predictor of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and death. Furthermore, in a recent study on a large cohort of Covid 19 patients in New York, obesity was found to be one of the most common associated comorbidities in hospitalized patients ». Hence the idea of ​​analyzing – on the other hand – how the significant weight loss resulting from bariatric surgery could affect the patient’s response, also in terms of complications, to a possible Covid 19 infection.

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