Obesity now considered a disease

[Celista]

From this article:

One in 3 American adults has a new disease diagnosis, whether they know it or not, because the American Medical Association has voted to formally classify obesity as a disease.

This decision from the nation's largest physician organization on Tuesday could bring more attention to the obesity epidemic from doctors, more coverage from insurers and hopefully lower rates of obesity-related diseases, The New York Times reports.

Patrice Harris, an AMA board member, said in a statement, "Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately 1 in 3 Americans."

Previously, obesity had been termed "a major public health problem."

The decision was made at the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is linked to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, which make up some of the leading causes of preventable death.

"The American Medical Association's recognition that obesity is a disease carries a lot of clout," Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, told USA Today.

Obesity accounts for $147 billion in annual medical costs, according to the CDC.

"I think you will probably see from this physicians taking obesity more seriously, counseling their patients about it," said Morgan Downey, an advocate for obese people and publisher of the online Downey Obesity Report, to the Times.


Do you think it is appropriate to classify obesity as a disease rather than focusing on preventative measures (teaching individuals proper nutrition/exercise habits)? Or do you think this will lead to other, less desirable outcomes?

[The Madgod]

The pieces you've quoted have said that because it's now considered a disease that it will be taken more seriously and it is simple to infer that preventative measures would be stressed even more so now than ever.

I don't think it's a case of "Calling it a disease, therefore less focus on preventing it." Rather, I believe it is a case of "Calling it a disease, therefore making preventing it even more important." I think not calling it a disease makes it more likely that less desirable outcomes would actually occur.

[Deleted]

Government sponsored Gyms would be a good idea, expensive at first but very much worth it if we can get rid of a few fatties. I would rather see this implemented than the money sent abroad to countries that hate us.

[Aldred]

Well, I just wikipedia'd "disease" and, according to that, you could classify obesity as a disease. So I guess - okay then. I wouldn't have thought so but then I'm not a doctor, nor even a wikipedia contributor.

Really, preventative measures are faaaaaaaaaaaaar better than anything else. So whatever helps people not eat themselves to a low quality of life and an early death would be good with me.

[Celista]

Well, I just wikipedia'd "disease" and, according to that, you could classify obesity as a disease. So I guess - okay then. I wouldn't have thought so but then I'm not a doctor, nor even a wikipedia contributor.

Really, preventative measures are faaaaaaaaaaaaar better than anything else. So whatever helps people not eat themselves to a low quality of life and an early death would be good with me.

Agreed, I would have rather seen some sort of preventative program designed by the AMA than just a disease classification.

Also some (not all) people tend to get dismissive about their own proactive role in their situation when it is classified as "a disease". Such as, "I can't help it, I have a disease", etc, when really anyone can do SOMETHING about being overweight/obese without fat-blocking drugs, liposuction etc.

I'm not really against such a classification but I think they could have gone another route w/combating obesity in the US (such as focusing on preventative care).

[Deleted]

Cool, so now you can use it as an excuse.

- Hi, I can't come to work today, I'm fat.

[The Madgod]

Cool, so now you can use it as an excuse.

- Hi, I can't come to work today, I'm fat.

Your employer would fire you on the spot if you tried that xD

[Aldred]

Yeah that's a good point about using it as an excuse. People already come up with enough excuses not to get into better shape. :|

[Deleted]

Government sponsored Gyms would be a good idea, expensive at first but very much worth it if we can get rid of a few fatties. I would rather see this implemented than the money sent abroad to countries that hate us.

Completely agree with you comrade.

It's a life choice isn't it. Proper disgusting when you see 2 big fat parents and thier kid whos got no chance, its child abuse.

[starlord]

the term is "Chronic disease."

[TrumpIsPresident]

If obesity is a disease then so are incompetency and laziness . Too incompetent to realize you're eating habits will lead to being a fatass and too lazy to do anything about it once you become said fatass.

Your employer would fire you on the spot if you tried that xD

Maybe now, today. But give it a few more years and you will see legislation making it an act of discrimination to fire an employee who is obese. (USA)

[Underverse]

Incompetence and laziness are not the only causes of obesity.

Some people in here are being really inconsiderate.

[Deleted]

Incompetence and laziness are not the only causes of obesity.

Some people in here are being really inconsiderate.

They are the two largest causes though, not many people suffered from "glandular problems" during WW2 rationing.

[Rucati]

If obesity is a disease then so are incompetency and laziness . Too incompetent to realize you're eating habits will lead to being a fatass and too lazy to do anything about it once you become said fatass.

Maybe now, today. But give it a few more years and you will see legislation making it an act of discrimination to fire an employee who is obese. (USA)

I definitely agree with both parts of this. Being lazy and unhealthy isn't a disease. To actually be obese kind of requires a lot of effort, like you have to eat a lot of food and at the same time not actually ever do any physical activity at all. It's kind of impressive so many people manage to end up obese. But that doesn't make it a disease, it just makes people incompetent.

And I also wouldn't be surprised if being fat allows you to do less work and not get fired, because you know, you might have a heart attack if you take more than 10 steps without sitting down.

[Jilor]

Several people in this thread act like everyone just made a choice to wake up fat. Not enough people factor in the choices made for you bad shitty parenting. Some parents are cheap and raise their children on cheap and easy to cook food (either low quality food from stores or, worse, fast food). By the time the kid gets to an age to decide, they're already battling weight issues. Then trying to get those years of terrible choices off of you is a brutal uphill struggle. You have to change what you eat (let's face it, many people aren't overly fond of change) and having to workout harder than if you had simply been raised right in the first place. Not all obesity is self inflicted.

[Underverse]

They are the two largest causes though, not many people suffered from "glandular problems" during WW2 rationing.

It's not just hormones either. It has a lot to do with cultural diet. People grow up in a culture, are taught what is right. Eat a few thousand seeds in every slice of bread, not knowing where it came from or what it actually is.

This coupled with epigenetic changes that stem from diet are probably more responsible than anything else. In most cases, I'd expect obesity is due to laziness about as much as being gay is a choice.

[Deleted]

It's not just hormones either. It has a lot to do with cultural diet. People grow up in a culture, are taught what is right. Eat a few thousand seeds in every slice of bread, not knowing where it came from or what it actually is.

This coupled with epigenetic changes that stem from diet are probably more responsible than anything else. In most cases, I'd expect obesity is due to laziness about as much as being gay is a choice.

Seriously? Most? If there was a cure for being Gay most would take it as a teen rather than live a life of hardship and persecution, being fat on the other is very much curable.

[Underverse]

Seriously? Most? If there was a cure for being Gay most would take it as a teen rather than live a life of hardship and persecution, being fat on the other is very much curable.

It's manageable. Not really curable. Curable would be being able to eat whatever you want and not get fat.

[Yvaelle]

In so far as classifying it as a disease helps to encourage people to take is seriously, it's good. If it helps people excuse the factors that contribute to it, it's bad. In terms of outcomes, classifying it as a disease or not has little significant impact I think - some people will be inclined to take positive action to take it seriously, others will excuse their input on account of being diseased - this always happened prior to it being classified as well.

Preventative education is the only real solution. Exercise and nutrition are a congregation of understanding (education), motivation (the persons willpower), and opportunity (money and time). Often the problem isn't that people don't want to be healthy, it's that they don't understand how to accomplish it - that probably sounds odd, so let me explain. In America particularly, the topic of nutrition and exercise are obfuscated by unregulated market practices for advertising and product quality control and information. Companies like MacDonalds can claim that their new healthy menu is good for you and consists of lettuce wraps and such - except most of these items have as many calories per mass as their burgers and fries - nobody stops them - so people who don't know about calories, what is good, what is bad, and how to count them - eat fake 'healthy' food hoping to lose weight: that it sells tells you the person wants to lose weight (they are motivated to sacrifice taste and change their habits for the sake of health). Exercise companies can sell you bizarre contraptions to make sit-ups easier (which defeats the point) or to electrify your fat - neither of which are beneficial.

What America (but it's true of people, particularly poor and uneducated people worldwide) needs is a clearly defined and authoritative education on what does and doesn't work. It's really not hard to lose weight, it's incredibly simple - but the topics are so obfuscated by product marketing that people become confused. Losing weight and beating obesity, in like 80% of cases, comes down to eating fewer, better calories and exercising more. There are no shortcuts, you can't buy away your obesity, you do crunches and pushups and jog, you eat fruit and vegetables rather than fast food - and for the overwhelming majority of people, you lose weight and become healthier.

With that said, the BMI index is a complete joke - and if that's what's being used to judge obesity in America - then I'd probably qualify as obese by that standard too: but I'm not 'fat' by appearance, let alone obese. People need to stop using BMI, it's completely unscientific.

[TrumpIsPresident]

And I also wouldn't be surprised if being fat allows you to do less work and not get fired, because you know, you might have a heart attack if you take more than 10 steps without sitting down.

Right now its legal to fire or refuse to hire somebody because they are fat, within certain considerations. But our current administration is working extremely hard to change all of that. Just as they have their pit bull lawyers seek out establishments which do not comply with absurd new additions to the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The bottom line is that in America the normal subsidizes the abnormal. Which was fine right up until the point where the abnormal began to outnumber the normal. So now we have questions such as "why should my airline ticket price go up because some fat person needs two seats but only pays for one" or "why should my health care costs go up because some fat people uses 70% more resources in their lifetime than I do". Certain types have realized the shift in numbers and have made it their mission in life to gain power by exploiting the abnormal and painting the rest of us as heartless or hate filled.