(From a 1992 Thesis) Obesity Lowers Oxygen Levels When Lying Down

[McCamy Taylor]

Obesity has been linked to a greater risk of hospitalization with COVID. I found a thesis done in 1992 by Anna Marie Angela Klosterman for her Masters Science Nurse Anesthesia which attempted to answer the question "Do obese people's oxygen saturation levels drop more than non-obese people when they lie down?" The answer was a (statistically significant) "Yes."

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6193&context=etd

Worse, while everyone, obese and non-obese, experiences a drop in oxygen saturation levels when they first lie down (probably related to the fact that the intra-abdominal contents now push against the diaphragm, making the work of breathing more difficult) in the obese group, oxygen levels continued to drop for several minutes.

This means that when someone who is obese gets COVID ( or any other lower respiratory infection) they start out with a handicap. If they go to bed to rest, their oxygen drops. Meaning less severe lung involvement will result in worsened hypoxia--putting that person at risk of dangerously low oxygen levels.


Possible implication for COVID patients: Everyone and especially everyone who is obese should be encouraged to prop up, maybe even sleep in a recliner since everyone's oxygen saturation falls a little bit when they lie down but people who are overweight have a more serious problem with lower oxygen saturation when lying flat on their backs. And every little bit (of oxygen) counts when you are trying to avoid the effects of low oxygen.

On a related note, there is something called a "tilt table" which can be used in an ICU for those who are on a ventilator long term.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003999304004034

Standing for 5 minutes with assistance of a tilt table significantly increased ventilation in critical care patients during and immediately after the intervention. There were no improvements in gas exchange post tilt. Using a tilt table provided an effective method to increase ventilation in the short term.

What if a tilt table could be used for more than a few minutes? Would oxygen improve for a longer period of time?

[BComplex]

1. This is very important! Anyone on a CPAP machine also knows that the breathing is easier on

their side, rather than lying on their back.

[McCamy Taylor]

2. On their side with their head also propped up above the level of their abdomen

This is doable with a wedge pillow. I wear a kid's back pack filled with a soft pillow on my back when I sleep (shoulder straps adjusted to be loose) so that I do not accidentally roll over on my back when I enter REM sleep (when the body enters a state of paralysis to prevent us from acting out our dreams. I also use a wedge pillow.However even with this, my oxygen sat drops by about 3 points as soon as I lie down. So now I am on the first diet of my (60 years of) life. I don't give a flip about the aesthetics of obesity but I do care about my health.

[MaryMagdaline]

3. Good deal

Every bit of weight loss is good for your health. I lost 60 pounds, but the first dramatic effect was at 7 pounds ... blood pressure dropped and I was able to go off one of my BP meds. After about 25 to 30 pounds, I was no longer pre-diabetic. At 10 pounds I was no longer snoring and that means not likely to die in my sleep.

Keep at it! Every little bit helps!

[BComplex]

6. Best of luck with your diet!

I hope you feel healthier every day!

[Backseat Driver]

10. In a perfect world, this may work but persons with long-term obesity often have a

level of insulin resistance progressing to Types I and II diabetes, that inhibit organs from doing effective immune functions...especially liver, spleen, and kidneys. I'm thinking that by the time persons are placed on ventilators, there are primary malfunctions having to do with the CNS's messaging the immune system in seeking metabolic homeostasis - Health gurus have claimed that well-functioning gut microbiome sends more far more metabolic signals to the brain than the brain sends back to initiate "repair" functions. True or not, do we even know when eu-stress may be in the long-run just as extremely stressful when basic metabolic functioning is challenged by hijacking cellular at high viral load levels.

If more effective therapies could be used early on the cycle of disease progression, i.e., against exponential replication that hijack cellular DNA for replication. It's clear that some portion of our genetic code can be turned off and on and pathways changed. Most people are not at the tipping point of those changes; however, herd immunity is a long way off; hastily made vaccines will cause more suspiciousness about political malicious motives as well as confusion about studied long-term effects or efficacy. Even trust in "informed consent" measures seem to require PhD status...corporate/government attempts that thwart true issues of accountability and liability...don't get me started since its now apparently okay to acquit the perp(s) without presenting evidence or witnesses at trial.

[Onelove Vt]

4. Proning

From what I understand they are placing people on their stomachs to help them breathe. It’s referred to as proning

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Yes, that helps, too.

Because the portion of the lung "on top" (superior) gets less pressure and therefore becomes less congested and most of the lung is on the back (dorsal) part of the chest (the heart takes up part of the chest in the front plus the diaphragm is curved).

However, the standing position (head superior, feet inferior) takes a lot of abdominal pressure off the diaphragm. Won't work for everyone. Those with congestive heart failure must have their legs elevated since the work of pumping blood up from the legs against gravity is very hard on the heart. However, the tilt table might work for younger people who have good heart function (normal ejection fractions). There might also be a way to alternate supine and tilted for maximum cardiovascular efficiency.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Was gonna post about proning but you did so much better. Thanks! How about elevated trunk in bed?

[SCantiGOP]

7. I know how this country could lose

More than 300 pounds of ugly fat next November 3

[Marrah_Goodman]

9. So glad I had surgery last summer

I've lost 75 pounds so far and still going.