NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Long Island politician has come up with a diet and exercise-focused plan to help his town stave off what he describes as the “COVID 10.”
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Suffolk County Legislator William Spencer on Wednesday announced an initiative called “The Healthy Huntington,” which aims to help residents of Huntington, Long Island decrease their chances of being seriously impacted by COVID-19 by losing weight.
Spencer, who is also a physician, said many of his patients have been dealing with high levels of anxiety during the pandemic — leading to “a lot of emotional eating.”
“I myself have put on a few pounds,” he said at a news conference. “I like to refer to it as the COVID 10.”
COVID-19 has a “much greater impact” on people with diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma, all of which are “associated with obesity,” Spencer noted.
An analysis published by the Journal of the American Medical Association last month found that nearly 42 percent of 5,700 COVID-19 patients admitted to 12 Northwell Health hospitals in the New York City area were obese.
“As we slowly work our way out of this crisis, it is important for us to make healthy choices,” Spencer said. “It’s important that you get out and exercise, cut back on the junk food, get ample sleep, hydrate.”
“That’s something that you can do, besides social distancing and staying at home, to kind of protect yourself from COVID-19 or protect yourself from having a poor outcome,” he added.
Spencer has teamed up with Intelligence Fitness, Blue Lotus Center for Yoga and the Arts and Dr. David Buchin, the director of bariatric surgery at Huntington Hospital, to offer a virtual “healthy lifestyle program” to Huntington residents, complete with free virtual exercise and yoga classes, nutritional advice and Facebook Live events discussing obesity and COVID-19.
The program will touch up on subjects including “how to control emotional eating” Buchin said at the news conference. More information about the initiative can be found on LI Obesity Surgery’s Facebook page.
“I know that the town of Huntington has always been known for its wonderful sense of community, neighbor helping neighbor, and we’ve always had a small-town feel,” Buchin said. “So now, let’s get healthy together.”