These 3 Health Conditions Make Getting COVID-19 So Much Worse

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

More than 500,000 people have died from COVID-19, globally, about 25% of whom were from the United States. While no one is guaranteed recovery from coronavirus, there are certain groups of people that are at higher risk of fatality than others, irrespective of age.

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, MD, FAAFP, explains just three of the underlying medical conditions that increase a person's risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

"Today, nearly 3 out of 4 Americans are overweight or obese and 50 percent of adults are diabetic or prediabetic," says Cucuzzella. "Recent research has shown that in the United States, the majority of individuals needing hospitalization due to COVID-19 had a preexisting health condition, such as hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes."

Cucuzzella says that hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, in some cases, can stem from the same issue: insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs when your pancreas produces more insulin than what's needed to grab glucose (sugar) from your bloodstream and transfer them to your cells. This condition is also referred to as hyperinsulinemia.

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https://www.eatthis.com/health-conditions-make-covid-worse/?utm_source=nsltr&utm_medium=email&utm_content=swimming-after-eating&utm_campaign=etntNewsletter

[Stuart G]

1. Thank You for the information..K and R

[peggysue2]

2. This is why I've remained careful

In addition to being over 60 years of age, my husband has all three health conditions--overweight, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. I simply don't want to bring it home.

Not too crazy about getting it myself either. But I'm really more concerned about him.

[Faux pas]

3. Kickin'

[crimycarny]

4. Husband brought A1C from 13 to 5 by walking

I didn’t realize that 50% of American adults had diabetes. Wow.

About 5 years ago now my husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. His A1C was 13! Normal is below 5.7, pre-diabetes is 5.7-6.4, diabetes is anything over 5.7. So 13 is waaaaaaay up there. He never started on insulin (refused to do so—terrified of needles) but immediately changed his diet and started walking. Within 2 weeks he saw a huge improvement in his blood sugar levels. He lost 25 lbs in about 2 months. By month 4 his A1C was normal.

Today he continues his daily walks (5 miles a day). His weight has crept back up to where it was when he was first diagnosed, but his A1C remains in the normal range. So the exercise obviously has a protective effect.

When my husband went in for a checkup a couple months after his diagnosis they asked how he was getting his A1C to drop so quickly. He told them about his diet change and walking routine. He asked why they never mentioned diet and exercise as a possible cure. They said “because most people won’t do it.”

Imagine if the American lifestyle was such that it was easier to get in an hour of exercise? Healthcare costs would decrease dramatically. In my husband’s case he works from home and our kids are older, so he has the time. Not everyone has that luxury. Somehow we need to help make that possible.

[Demovictory9]

5. walking is like medicine. Cutting down on fatty, greasy, salty food is like medicine

drinking more water, more plant based diet.

[Midnight Writer]

6. My brother-in-law did the same thing. Limited his diet and walks after every meal.

His doctor says he is the first patient he's had that actually turned around his "numbers' without meds.

[crimycarny]

9. Interesting that they told my husband the same

So, is it just that your brother-in-law and my husband are exceptions, or is it that doctors are downplaying that diet and exercise might actually be a cure versus “a good thing to do as part of your treatment” (treatment being insulin shots).

I get why doctors might be well-meaning—but wrong—in not stressing diet and exercise. They assume people won’t follow through so feel it’s safer to just prescribe drugs as treatment. But what a disservice! I can’t believe the positive changes in my husband’s health. He used to get headaches constantly, those have disappeared. His back would hurt him constantly, no more. And despite his weight going back up to where it was previously he is still healthy. Blood sugar normal, cholesterol levels excellent (had high cholesterol levels pre-exercise).

My brother has just started an exercise program. His blood pressure has gone through the roof. High blood pressure doesn’t run in our family but his diet is awful (tons of fast food) and he is about 40 lbs overweight. His blood pressure soared so high he has been in the emergency room twice. He’s now motivated to change his lifestyle. I pray he can stick to his exercise routine. Only been 3 weeks but he’s already lost 18 lbs. If he can get through 2 months I think it will become a habit. Hope, hope, hope he can.

[Awsi Dooger]

13. I dropped mine to 4.7 three years ago by walking and sensible diet

I didn't have diabetes but I was overweight and sluggish with high blood pressure.

I need to get back to that routine. I've gained weight during coronavirus by staying home and eating trail mix.

I blame biathlon, actually. That's such a fascinating sport that I never appreciated fully until recently. I can watch races 8 or 12 years old and fully enjoy them because I have no idea who won. The late shifts of fortune are so incredible it is difficult to compare to any other sport. I've spent some coronavirus days watching 12 or 15 biathlon races back to back. Hence the weight gain of 18 pounds.

[ooky]

14. Mine came back 6.3 last week.

Guess I'm going to need to increase my activity some. I have HBP too, but its fairly well controlled.

[Sugarcoated]

15. Very cool about your husband's health improvements!

May I ask what the changes in his diet were?

[KT2000]

7. A man who died of Covid-19

did not even know he had type 2 diabetes until he was hospitalized with the virus.

[totodeinhere]

8. I think that anyone who is obese really needs to go on a weight reduction program

for their own protection. There are so many health benefits to losing weight. But it must be a gradual process. Losing too much weight to quickly is not good either.

[crimycarny]

11. Agree--with a focus on exercise

I’ve found it’s easier to lose weight through a focus on exercise over diet. You need to do both (diet and exercise) but it seems that the focus is always on diet first and exercise second. I think that needs to be flip-flopped. Exercise increases your metabolism, generates endorphins, and can act as a natural appetite suppressant (at least appetite for sugary junk type food). When the focus is on diet then you think about food all the time. You are so focused on what you can or can’t eat that you are always hungry and obsessed with food. That’s what I’ve observed anyway.

Somehow we need to make it easier for people to get in their exercise and make it easier to eat healthy. Fresh fruit and vegetables are so expensive that people who need to make use of food programs often can’t afford them! Think of how much produce gets thrown out. It’s crazy!!!!

[yellowwoodII]

10. Shhh!

Can't say that: Fat-shaming, you know.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

12. There is

A real bigotry twords fat people. I was fat, I have diabeties,but my sugar levels are in range. I do keto. I have problems excercising because of psych issues,and PTSD.

Losing the weight people don't degrade me or shame. It's a different world how people treat me now I am thin..

When I breathe heavy during exercise it makes me panic. So I do what I can.

Being fat has many issues wrapped up in it. Health wise psychological and more.

Calories in out only speaks to part of the problem.

I have gone from size 44 to 36. Still losing.the size 36 are getting big.

However the anxiety diabeties causes me I want to get the ynx route stomach surgery to rid myself of diabeties and the stress and fear it causes me.

I am scared I may die in my sleep, I have started needing a nightlight. You can say what you want but being fat hurts not just your body,it's how people degrade you. When I was fat I hated myself. Hated my body was ashamed and it often makes me feel suicidal. Those emotions come from years hating my body.

The fear that the weight might come back haunts me .I'm terrified of it returning. I am afraid of food. I hate to eat. Wish I didn't have to eat. When I think about food I just want to rip out my stomach. Make it stop wanting food.

Do you have any clue how much it hurts psychologically to be fat?
Even after the weight is gone?

[crimycarny]

17. 100% agree

I have a 1/2 sister who can eat the exact same diet I do, exercise more than I do, yet still struggle with her weight. We share the same father, different mother. Her maternal side all tend to be on the heavier side. There are genetics in play, some have to work twice as hard.

Despite my never having been heavy I grew up with a father who would make fun of overweight people all the time. I can remember so many hurtful comments dad would make under his breath “There goes ole’ tons of fun.” As a child I never knew why he was so fixated on weight, but I vowed never to get heavy. Well, I became a teenager and started filling out. My dad made a comment to my sister, in front of me, that it looked like I was “getting a bit of a tummy”. I was 5’9” and probably weighed around 130. Well, that one comment set me off on a 20 year battle with anorexia and then bulimea. I remember looking in the mirror and being disgusted with how “fat” I was. I was 5’9” and 93 lbs.

It took years of therapy but I finally won my battle with judging my worth based on my weight. Health is all that matters. A person can be overweight but healthier than someone of a normal or even underweight.

Good for you for working on your HEALTH. Let everyone else do the same and stop judging people by a number on a scale.

[Wounded Bear]

16. 3 for 3 here, so try to be careful...

manage my diabetes, take my meds, wear masks when I go out.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

18. I wear a mask and a face shield

I stay in,don't go anywhere unessesarily. Meds,catfood or groceries.

I go out twice to three times a month.
Walk to the store and walk back home about a mile one way with around 30,40 pounds of groceries
In balanced bags. I walk slow and steady to keep panic away.
1 of those trips is for a box of cat litter.

I live near a small Walmart and a target. The walk is mostly other people free..

I'm careful.