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Patients who have this surgery far less likely to get severe COVID-19

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Being overweight increases the risk of dying from COVID-19 more than threefold. (Photo by Oakland Images via Shutterstock)

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Obese patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery are 60 percent less likely to develop severe Covid-19 complications, according to new research.

A large-scale study found bariatric surgery protected against pneumonia, organ failure and septic shock.

They were healthier at the time of contracting the coronavirus - resulting in better clinical outcomes, say scentists.

Being overweight increases the risk of dying from the infection more than threefold.

Lead author Professor Ali Aminian, director of Cleveland Clinic's Bariatric & Metabolic Institute, said: "The findings show patients with obesity who achieved substantial and sustained weight loss with bariatric surgery prior to a COVID-19 infection reduced their risk of developing severe illness by 60 percent.

"Our study provides strong evidence obesity is a modifiable risk factor for COVID-19 that can be improved through a successful weight-loss intervention."

Doctors examine Covid-19 samples in the laboratory for mutations and gene sequences
Around40 percent of Americans have obesity, which increases the risk of dying from COVID-19. (True Touch Lifestyle/Shutterstock)

His team tracked 20,212 adults with obesity - 5,053 who had weight-loss surgery between 2004 and 2017 carefully matched with 15,159 controls.

Participants had a BMI (body mass index) of at least 35. Rates of contracting Covid were similar between both groups - around 9 percent.

But the risk of severe symptoms, hospitalization and need for ventilation dropped by 60, 49 and 63 percent, respectively in the surgery set.

Patients who had bariatric surgery lost a fifth more weight prior to March 1, 2020 - the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cleveland.

Senior author Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the clinic, said: "Striking findings from the current study support the reversibility of the health consequences of obesity in the patients with COVID-19.

"This study suggests an emphasis on weight loss as a public health strategy can improve outcomes during the pandemic and future outbreaks or related infectious diseases.

"That is a very important finding considering 40 percent of Americans have obesity."

Obesity weakens the immune system and causes cardiovascular disease and lung illnesses - all of which complicate COVID-19.

The UK has been dubbed the 'Fat Man of Europe' with around a third of adults obese - and a futher two-thirds overweight.

Last year British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered an anti-obesity strategy following his near-fatal brush with the virus.

Restaurant and takeaway chains will be forced to publish the calories in every meal they serve.

Similar labels will also have to be placed on bottles and cans of beer, wine and spirits sold in shops.

Weight loss surgery is a major operation and should only be considered after trying to shed pounds through a healthy diet and exercise.

The most common types are a gastric band where a band is placed around your stomach or a gastric bypass where the top part is joined to the small intestine.

The UK's National Health Service advises: "Weight loss surgery can achieve dramatic weight loss, but it's not a cure for obesity on its own.

"You'll need to commit to making permanent lifestyle changes after surgery to avoid putting weight back on.

The findings were published in JAMA Surgery.

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