Patients of Dr. David Buchin, Huntington Hospital‘s director of bariatric surgery, tried out shadow boxing Friday with the help of “Biggest Loser’ trainer Cara Castronuova.
Buchin and Town Clerk Andrew Raia talked about losing weight and the need to remain or get healthy.
“Once you start losing, you want to lose more,” Raia said, who added that he had gained 10 pounds during the Covid-19 crisis but then lost 15.
Castronuova ed several patients and others through an intense workout, shadow-boxing while seated in the parking lot of Buchin’s medical practice on Wall Street.
Buchin cited obesity as a factor in many Covid-19 cases. “It’s incredibly important to get as healthy as possible,” as a defense against the epidemic. “We need to get fit as a country,” he said, noting that about 40 percent of Americans are considered obese and that it increases a Covid-19 patient’s risk of a poorer outcome by 27 percent.
Castronuova grew up in Elmont and is a champion boxer and past nationally ranked two-time Golden Gloves champion. She founded the “Knockout Obesity Foundation” a charity dedicated to helping youth who struggle with obesity and need help in obtaining a healthy lifestyle.
Back in May, Huntington announced that it was putting the town on a diet, targeting the “quarantine 15” that experts were estimating the average person was gaining by sitting at home, not exercising and eating junk food.