HOUSTON — A new study shows the pandemic has caused us to eat worse and exercise less, and it’s been especially problematic for those who are obese.
But surgeons at Memorial Hermann have a different take. They say because of coronavirus, more and more people are turning to weight loss surgery to get healthy.
For John and Nicole Burns, their weight had been an issue for awhile.
“We did all the normal yo-yo dieting, up and down," John Burns said.
Each over 300 pounds, John Burns was diagnosed diabetic.
“I also have sleep apnea, which Nicole does, too," John Burns said.
With their foster daughter to think of, each had already decided to get surgery.
“We knew that use getting healthy was something that was really, really important," Nicole Burns said.
But COVID-19 made that decision even easier.
“It was something that put me in a higher risk categories because of diabetes," John Burns said.
So in May, the couple went under the knife two weeks apart. And today, six months later, they’re down 100 pounds and now have an entirely new lifestyle. Their meals are very small.
“You don’t want it to be junk. You want it to be good, because it makes you feel bad if you eat junk," John Burns said.
Weight loss surgery has become a popular decision during the pandemic.
“My patients can read that having a problem or having COVID with obesity leads to worse outcome," said Dr. Jason Balette, bariatric surgeon with Memorial Hermann's Woodlands Medical Center.
Balette says the number of procedures are up 20 percent over this time last year. For his patients, it's not just to lose the weight, but to make them healthier during the pandemic.
“To better position themselves, in the event that they have COVID or have to deal with COVID," Balette said.
But not just anyone can get the surgery. You must have a BMI over 35 percent and other related health issues to be considered.
But for John and Nicole Burns, those issues -- the diabetes and sleep apnea -- are now gone.
“I feel like a brand new person, but like the person that I always knew that I was, and the person that I always saw, but now everybody else just gets to see it too," Nicole Burns said.
For more information about weight loss surgery options and resources, visit http://www.memorialhermann.org/weight-loss.