Why obesity is a disease

You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter. Related Articles. Surprising Facts About Bariatric Surgery. Can Heart Failure Be Prevented? Trending Topics. What Parents Need to Know. Obesity is related to genetic, psychological, physical, metabolic, neurological, and hormonal impairments.

It is intimately linked to heart disease, sleep apnea, and certain cancers. Obesity is one of the few diseases that can negatively influence social and interpersonal relationships. Why obesity is a disease is becoming more evident as we increase our knowledge of fat mechanics.

To successfully confront the obesity pandemic will require attacking the disease and its manifestations, not just its symptoms. Do you consider obesity a disease? At the end of this Medscape article , you can take a short survey and view the results to find out where you stand compared to other physician specialties.

Obesity is a chronic disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity affects Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates. Health Aff Millwood. Indirect costs of obesity: a review of the current literature. Obes Rev. Mission: Readiness Council for a Strong America; Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

Minus Related Pages. On This Page. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address. Email Address. What's this? Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.

Related Topics. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. How big a difference would it make to a patient who wants to lose weight and keep it off if everyone recognized obesity as a disease and gave them the same consideration afforded to people with other chronic diseases? Broad acceptance of obesity as a disease would be beneficial in many ways, some beyond decreased fat shaming. To be sure, there is progress. The overall prevalence of fat bias is decreasing slowly.

There are multiple new promising pharmacotherapies. The current NIH emphasis on precision medicine and nutrition is a big step towards augmenting our ability to leverage both current and future treatment options to promote weight loss and prevent regain.

The mandate for health professionals and others to use person first language -- where someone is identified as a person with obesity or diabetes rather than as an obese patient or a diabetic patient -- is another big step towards separating the person from the stereotype of their somatotype. Yet, the term "obesity" remains taboo and is rarely spoken to patients or by politicians. For example, African-, Latino-, and Native-Americans are disproportionately affected and are also subjected to treatment disparities.

Obesity accounts for over , deaths per year among U. There are tremendous health and financial benefits of recognizing and accepting that obesity is a disease process that begins long before the associated co-morbidities such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease are detected.