Reply to the Response to: Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Short-Term Weight Loss in a Single Italian Institution: 1-Year Updated Data.

Dear Editor,

As researchers, we always welcome a constructive discussion, but we have to underline that intentions of our previous letter may have been misunderstood.

In our first article [1], we warned the bariatric community about the risks of detrimental effects of lockdown on short-term weight loss. Afterwards, several articles on the same topic were published [2-5]. In the light of the outcomes of these papers, we updated our study with 1-year results.

In our letter [6], we have enlisted the abovementioned articles [2-5] stressing similarities and differences.

Indeed, the statement “Despite these studies have provided larger samples, they have also included individuals who were submitted to surgery long before the full lockdown” was not specifically referring to one paper [5].

However, once again, we agree with our colleagues: Implementation of telemedicine could be useful to overcome geographical problems and/or to improve healthcare for minorities.

Nevertheless, specific protocols that can provide a safe access to hospitals for critical patients, such as bariatrics, during the current and future pandemics are still mandatory [7].