'Social distancing results in less activities, more obesity and blood sugar'

Society needs to help obese people and those with metabolic problems maintain a healthy life amid various facility closures or restrictions during the Covid-19 social distancing era, an expert pointed out.

Professor Kim Mi-kyung of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Keimyung University School of Medicine stressed the need to keep obese and metabolic syndrome patients healthy in the Covid-19 era during the 53rd annual spring conference of the Korean Society for the study of Obesity (KSSO) held online and offline at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel on Saturday.

Professor Kim Mi-kyung of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Keimyung University School of Medicine made these and other points while explaining Daegu City's experience to deal with the effects of obesity and metabolic disorders related to Covid-19.

At the 53rd annual spring conference of the Korean Society for the study of Obesity (KSSO) held online and offline on Saturday, Professor Kim presented the results of comparing the situations of diabetic patients with hemoglobin A1C among outpatients at five university hospitals before and after the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic.

"As the weather gets warmer, people's activity increases, so you can see that A1C decreases slightly in spring and summer compared to winter," Kim said. "Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, however, we found that the blood sugar generally increased."

Notably, young people and patients with well-controlled A1C of 7 percent or less showed a greater increase in blood sugar, she said.

Kim pointed out that social distancing has exerted influence on the increase of blood sugar levels in patients.

"Social distancing is a necessary measure to prevent the spread of infection," Kim said. "However, decreases of activity along with the mental stress of people have eventually led to the aggravation of obesity and diabetes."

The trend is largely similar to those of other countries. Still, Kim pointed out that chronic diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, are a risk factor for Covid-19 amid the continuous social distancing.

"Most patients, including elderly patients, were afraid that they couldn't come to the hospital due to the new coronavirus. Many patients do not come to the hospital to receive their medicine," she said. "Both the government and medical community should keep a close eye on such patients so that their symptoms do not deteriorate suddenly."

While patients need to abide by social distancing regulations, it also seems important to educate them about ways to increase the amount of activity at home or social life to gain more weight and blood sugar, she added.

Kim pointed to the need to ensure that patients can maintain a healthy life even in this pandemic state.