A patient weighing 143 kg asked: "Nurse, I am really just a little fat, how could it almost cost me my life?"

Mr. Wang, who weighs 143 kilograms, was admitted to the People's Hospital of Yueqing City, Zhejiang Province for treatment due to sepsis and severe pneumonia. During his hospitalization, he continued to have chest tightness, shortness of breath, and blood in his sputum. The mask oxygen inhalation of 8 liters/minute could not relieve the symptoms, as if his throat was strangled by an invisible hand. After various examinations, although he ruled out fatal pulmonary embolism, problems such as fatty liver and cholestasis were like a series of alarms. He asked me with red eyes: "Nurse, I am really just a little fat, how could it almost cost me my life?"

1. The "domino effect" hidden in fat

The first domino: Fatty liver is not "sub-health", it is the liver's distress signal

Mr. Wang's liver was like being soaked in an oil tank, and its normal metabolic function declined, resulting in a weakened detoxification ability. When severe pneumonia struck, his liver was unable to effectively remove inflammatory factors, which accelerated the development of sepsis.

The second domino: Obesity turns breathing into "mountaineering with weight"

The fat accumulated in Mr. Wang's chest was like a sandbag pressing on his lungs. During his hospitalization, his blood oxygen level once dropped to 88% (normal is > 95%). Each breath required more respiratory muscles to be mobilized, which was also an important reason for his continued shortness of breath.

The third domino: Inflammatory response is like "wildfire"
Fat cells secrete pro-inflammatory factors, which explains why obese patients are more likely to develop sepsis after infection. Studies have shown that the mortality rate after infection in patients with a BMI greater than 40 is 2-3 times that of those with normal weight.

Hidden Crisis: Those Missed Warning Signs

Cholestasis indicates that metabolic disorders have affected the digestive system. Symptoms such as snoring at night and palpitations after activities that often occur before the onset of the disease are actually "overload alarms" issued by the body.

2. Three magic weapons to "scientifically reduce the burden" on the body

Magic weapon 1: Treat weight loss like a disease

Develop a personalized plan:

- Diet: Use the "plate split method" (1/2 vegetables + 1/4 protein + 1/4 staple food).

- Exercise: Start by standing against a wall for 5 minutes a day, and gradually transition to seated leg raises.

- Monitoring: Measure waist circumference at a fixed time every week (male <90cm, female <85cm).

Magic weapon 2: Break the "yo-yo weight loss" curse

Recommended step-by-step goals:

Phase 1 (January-March): Lose 5% (about 7kg) to improve metabolism.

Phase 2 (April-June): Reduce another 5% to restore liver function.

Phase 3: Establish a long-term weight management mechanism.

When I was watching Mr. Wang breathing hard during the ward rounds, I suddenly thought that overloading a car would damage the engine, and the same is true for the human body. Fortunately, after 10 days of treatment, Mr. Wang recovered and was discharged from the hospital. During the follow-up visit, he said: "I have started a weight loss plan." This may be the warmth of medicine - we cannot reverse time, but we always have the opportunity to restart our health.