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Patrice O'Neal dies at age 41

By April MacIntyre Nov 30, 2011, 3:42 GMT

09/10/2011 - Patrice O\'Neal - Comedy Central\'s Roast of Charlie Sheen - Arrivals - Sony Studios - Culver City, CA, USA © richard shotwell / PR Photos

Veteran of Comedy Central's "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn," and fellow roaster for Charlie Sheen's all-star send up on the same network, Patrice O’Neal’s passing on Tuesday at the young age 41 from complications of a stroke he suffered could have been avoided if he had his Diabetes under control, according to a top Bariatric surgeon.

Mr. O'Neal died in a hospital in the New York City area from complications of a stroke he suffered on Oct. 19, his agent, Matt Frost, said.

"Diabetes, high blood pressure, and other obesity related diseases are truly silent killers. Strokes from diabetes and silent heart attacks are manifestations of being overweight. What you eat and how much you eat affects your health in the short and long term," said Dr. Carson D. Liu, MD, FACS, FASMBS.

O’Neal was reported to have died from complications from the stroke.  O'Neal was diabetic and overweight, which is a significant risk factor for stroke, according to Dr. Liu.

If you are overweight, simply losing weight can help, Liu tells Monsters and Critics. "Managing diabetes and maintaining a healthy weight are excellent ways to lower your risk. Patients who have adult onset diabetes need to realize that it is reversible with lifestyle changes, including weight loss and exercise. Weight loss surgery is an option for people who are 30% or more over their ideal body weight and have a hard time exercising without success."

Charlie Sheen, who was ribbed at his Comedy Central roast by O'Neal and other roasters, wrote on his WhoSay page, "The entertainment world as well as the world at large lost a brilliant man today. “Patrice had that rare ‘light’ around him and inside of him. I only knew him for the few days leading up to the Roast. Yet I will forever be inspired by his nobility, his grace and his epic talent.”

“My tears today are for the tremendous loss to his true friends and loving family,” he concluded.