Is Obesity A Disease

Should obesity be treated as a disease?
By ProCon.org
8/16/2024
Obesity is the “abnormal or excessive fat

accumulation that presents a risk to health.
A body mass index (BMI) … over 30 is
obese,” according to the World Health
Organization (WHO). In adults age 20 or
older, BMI’s of 25 to 29.9 are considered
overweight, and BMI’s of 40+ are classified
as severely obese.
BMI is one way to estimate total body fat.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica,
“BMI is defined as weight
in kilograms divided by the square of the
Could obesity be contagious in a similar way to a virus? -
height in metres.” The number, however, is
markhayes/Depositphotos not a direct measure of body fat,
and skinfold calipers can offer a more
accurate measurement. While BMI has been used in clinical settings for years, in 2023
the American Medical Association urged healthcare professionals not to rely solely on BMI as a
measure of a patient’s health. For example, some people, such as muscle-heavy athletes, may
have “obese” BMIs without excess body fat.
Is obesity a disease?
The FDA, the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, the Obesity Society, the World Health
Organization (WHO), the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Academy of Family
Physicians (AAFP), and other medical organizations have all defined obesity as a disease. [2] [3] [4]
[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
“Individuals with obesity have an increased accumulation of fat not always attributable to eating
too many calories or lacking physical activity. They experience impaired metabolic pathways along
with disordered signaling for hunger, satiety (the feeling of fullness), and fullness (the state of
fullness),” according to the Obesity Medicine Association. “For many, efforts to lose weight are met
with unyielding resistance or disappointing weight regain…. [In fact,] 90% of people who lose weight
will regain most of it.” [10]
Some 42% of Americans, according to the WHO, suffer from obesity, and yet only 4% of people with
the disease seek treatment. Treating obesity as a disease like cancer or diabetes would increase
recourse to needed medical treatment. [11]
Further, “the rise of new obesity medicines … helps to frame it more as a disease. The general
public tends to think of a disease as having a corresponding medication to treat it. As more patients
come in asking about these medications, it can help to explain to them that this disease warrants a
multi-pillared approach, which can mean addressing lifestyle factors too,” according to the Obesity
Medicine Association. [10]
“We need to accept that obesity is a disease. And since it’s a chronic disease, every person with
obesity has to be diagnosed, and in each case a treatment needs to be defined. This is the future,”
says Daniel Weghuber of the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. [12]
Obesity and its risks

“Obesity is an inflammatory disease in which adipose tissue, or fat cells, release toxins known
as cytokines into the bloodstream. These toxins can damage critical organs, contributing to
conditions like fatty liver disease, diabetes and heart disease,” according to Christopher C.
Thompson, a Harvard professor of medicine. Obesity is linked to 30-53% of new diabetes cases in
the U.S. every year, reports the Journal of the American Heart Association. [1] [15]
Obesity also increases the risk for around 200 other diseases, including arthritis, asthma, cancer,
gallstones and gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, and sleep
apnea. Obesity triples the likelihood that COVID-19 will be severe. Mental illnesses including
anxiety and depression are also linked to obesity, and obesity was a factor in almost 12% of
American deaths in 2019 (the most recent data available). [12] [13]
Approaching obesity as a disease that deserves treatment can lower the risk of other diseases. New
prescription weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound, effectively treat obesity,
thus lowering the risk of and damage done by other diseases. [14]
Doctors and researchers are also finding that patients are more compliant in taking new drugs
specifically targeting weight, unlike single-use drugs like statins targeted to reduce cholesterol.
Further, the drugs are showing promise in treating related diseases like arthritis, fatty liver disease,
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and sleep apnea. [14]
By treating obesity like the disease it is, patients can benefit from better health care, better health,
and fewer related diseases, which can improve quality of life and lengthen their lifespans.
Reducing the stigma of being “fat”

“The societal stigma of being seen as ‘fat’ is a paralyzing barrier. So many still view obesity as a
character flaw, or the result of someone not having enough willpower or being lazy. As best-selling
author and social researcher Brene Brown explains, ‘shame is the most powerful, master emotion.’
Shame is killing people,” explains Christopher C. Thompson, a Harvard professor of medicine. [15]
The idea that a person’s caloric consumption and physical activity are solely responsible for their
weight is outdated and incorrect. Further, the idea that weight-loss management drugs and other
interventions are “vanity medication” or “the easy way out,” is “rooted in weight bias and the
principle that people with obesity are solely responsible for reversing their condition,” says William
H. Dietz of George Washington University. [16]
Dietz continues, “imagine, for any other chronic disease, foregoing medications that could spare a
patient the risks and complications of major surgery, increase mobility, improve mental health,
ease physical pain and financial burden, and begin to relieve the harms of that disease –all due to a
bias that isn’t supported by the research or medical literature, but is held at every level of
society.” [16]
Treating obesity as a disease gives more patients access to interventions. As family doctor Mara
Gordon explains, drugs like Ozempic may help “if you’re facing hatred and fatphobia on a daily
basis, if you can’t do the things you need to do because the chair at your office isn’t the correct
size…. I wish we lived in a less superficial society. But my job is to take care of the patient right in
front of me.” [17]
Treating obesity medically can not only help the patient but help minimize the stigma associated
with being overweight.
References
1. Emily Laurence, “Obesity Statistics and Facts in 2024,” forbes.com, Jan. 10, 2024
2. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "Regulations on Statements Made for Dietary Supplements Concerning the Effect
of the Product on the Structure or Function of the Body; Final Rule," fda.gov, Jan. 6, 1999
3. National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Understanding Adult Obesity," win.niddk.nih.gov, Nov. 2008
4. American Heart Association, "Treating Obesity as a Disease," heart.org, Apr. 14, 2014
5. World Health Organization (WHO), "Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic," who.int, 2000
6. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 26CFR1.213-1, .irs.gov, 2002
7. National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight
and Obesity in Adults," nih.gov, Sep. 1998
8. American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), "Obesity: A Growing & Dangerous Public Health Challenge," gi.org, 2008
9. AAFP, "Diagnosis and Management of Obesity," aafp.org, 2013
10. Obesity Medical Association, “Why Obesity Is a Disease,” obesitymedicine.org, Dec. 30, 2023
11. CDC, “Consequences of Obesity,” cdc.gov, July 15, 2022
12. World Health Organization, “Time to Accept That Obesity Is a Disease – Austria Is Building a National System to Treat
It,” who.int (accessed July 2, 2024
13. Karen Weintraub, “Obesity Was Long Considered a Personal Failing. Science Shows It’s Not.,” usatoday.com, July 26,
2022
14. Gina Kolata, “Doctors Test the Limits of What Obesity Drugs Can Fix,” nytimes.com, June 18, 2024
15. Christopher Thompson, “Obesity Is a Disease. It’s Time We Treat It like One,” forbes.com, Feb. 28, 2024
30. William H. Dietz, “Obesity Is a Chronic Disease: Instead of Punishing Patients, Provide Access to Treatment,”
healthaffairs.org, Aug. 18, 2022
31. Jamie Ducharme, “Should We End Obesity?,” time.com, Nov. 8, 2023

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Is Obesity A Disease

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Should obesity be treated as a disease?

Obesity is the “abnormal or excessive fat

BMI is one way to estimate total body fat.

Obesity and its risks

Reducing the stigma of being “fat”

6. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 26CFR1.213-1, .irs.gov, 2002

9. AAFP, "Diagnosis and Management of Obesity," aafp.org, 2013

11. CDC, “Consequences of Obesity,” cdc.gov, July 15, 2022

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