A LACK of understanding in obesity is creating a dangerous outlook for a pandemic now lost amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Ballarat bariatric surgeons warns.
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Surgeon Douraid Abbas said evidence had emerged people with complex and chronic disease were at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, should they contract the virus, but surgeries and procedures for people with obesity were being suspended across the state as hospitals grappled in preparation for the worst coronavirus cases.
British media is reporting United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backflipped on national obesity strategies after his own brush with death in a dangerous bout of COVID-19. Mr Johnson's epiphany has been based on his body mass index, deemed obese, in entering hospital and experiencing first hand the issues of co-morbidities.
Mr Abbas said obesity was too often a misunderstood inflammatory condition and this was a critical time to raise awareness for continued importance in a changed approach to tackling it as a community and health issue.
Victoria University's Professor Rosemary Calder, who leads Australia Health Policy Collaboration, told The Courier in April evidence coming from the United States, Italy and China was showing 78 to 99 per cent of people hospitalised with COVID-19 had pre-existing chronic illness such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. All are also high risk factors of obesity.
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Mr Abbas said winter and a fear in venturing into public amid the coronavirus pandemic had created a drop in patients at his Ballarat clinic. He urged people to keep on top of their healthcare with their doctors.
Mr Abbas is set to take part in Australia's first general practitioner-led metabolic syndrome program. As a specialist, Mr Abbas will help mentor GPs in regional areas to manage cases of metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of conditions that come with progressive abdominal weight gain.
The Lifestyle Breakthrough program is run by accredited medical specialists in a bid to provide GPs with knowledge and confidence to support patients with metabolic-related conditions, like diabetes and obesity.
Mr Abbas said GP practices were generally not set up to deliver effective and sustainable treatments for patients with metabolic syndrome and often it was left up to patients to find their own way in weight loss management.
"(Patients) just need someone to be with them, like their doctor. When a doctor is trained, it is easier on them too," Mr Abbas said.
"We're training them in a more holistic approach. It's not all about surgery for obesity, surgery is only part of it. Every patient is different. Some people relapse and for some people, surgery is not for them."
It's not all about surgery for obesity, surgery is only part of it. Every patient is different.
- Baristric surgeon Douraid Abbas
Surgery, he said, was not necessarily a first or last option for treatment. While surgery could help improve chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, Mr Abbas said lifestyle changes were also key.
Mr Abbas said as well as preventative measures, good nutrition, exercise and mental health care were important components to a comfortable happier and healthier life.
Mr Abbas has long championed a multidisciplinary approach and education to addressing obesity within healthcare across the region. He said once people understood obesity as a chronic disease it was easier to work together to find solutions, including amid another pandemic.
GPs have a chance to be trained in their clinic in Lifestyle Breakthrough at the same time they consult patients with such conditions.
On completing training, GPs will be accredited as metabolic syndrome doctors. Patients can then attend consultations with their GP as primary physician in a team of medical specialists and allied health professionals. The program can feature tele-health and minimal cost (most cases bulk billed) for patients.
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