Obesity Should Be Labeled as A Disease

Did you know that obesity is linked to more than sixty chronic diseases, in which it serves
as a major risk factor for them such as CAD, diabetes, cancers and many other diseases? In
addition to that the World Health Organization estimates that 2.8 million people dying yearly as
a result of being obese or overweight. Chronic disease is a human health condition that lasts for
more than 3 months and it requires medical attention. In simple words, obesity is majorly a
lifestyle disease attributed to the extra accumulation of fats in the body leading to several
negative effects on a person’s health. Although this phenomenon has a great prevalence
nowadays, yet unfortunately it is one of the most neglected health problems. People pay attention
to obesity only when its fatal consequences start to appear, in this case most of the people will
start seeking different kind of solutions; medical, surgical, pharmacological or even non
pharmacological, that could help them lose weight. This is why obesity should be labeled and
classified under the title of chronic diseases.
Being overweight, or even obese, is becoming more socially accepted than it was 2 decades ago.
Body shaming, viewed as a form of bullying, is still out there but its impact has lessened. Thus,
fewer obese people are “pressured” into losing weight and meeting the social “standards” of
body image. However, there’s a misunderstanding in being socially accepted for remaining fat.
Not caring about weight covertly entails neglecting one’s health. A study published by the
Journal of American Medical Association has shown that the percentages of people desiring to
lose weight has declined by 6.48%, whereas the prevalence of overweight/obese participants
increased from 52.72 % to 65.58% between the years 1988-1994 and 2009-2014. The decline
may not seem too big, however considering that 2 out of 3 Americans are obese/overweight, this
percentage reveals more millions of people have lost the motivation to adhere to a weight-loss
program.
Moreover, women are the leading force in this drop. In a sample of 3,800 participants, Harry
Balzer discovered that in 2012, roughly 23% of women claimed they were on a diet. This is a
sharp decline from the 35% who reported to be dieting in 1992. Another nationwide study,
performed by the International Food Information Council, indicates a slight decrease in the
number of Americans who proclaim to be dieting (55 percent in 2012, compared to 56 percent in
2007). Where the acceptance hasn't improved, obesity is often frowned upon. In the workplace,
obesity affects the acceptance of job applications. If the application includes a photo of an obese
applicant, they are less likely to be called for interview. Moreover, hired obese workers are often
wrongfully viewed as incompetent and lazy. They even suffer a wage gap and are less likely for
promotion! To add, in school bullying occurs not only amongst students but also teachers.
Besides, in medical facilities evidence shows that obese patients are perceived as unintelligent,
unproductive, weak-willed, filthy, lazy and over-indulgent. Fewer individuals are seeking to lose
weight. This phenomenon could be attributed to a misunderstanding of bodyweight reducing
motivation to lose weight or physicians not addressing weight issues with their clients.
Furthermore, obesity’s chronic nature may have a role. Adults who have been obese for a long
period may be less motivated to engage in weight-loss efforts, especially if they have tried and
failed to previously. Finally, where obesity isn't accepted the obese suffer mistreatment in an
environment due to inaccurate assumptions.
Obesity, although its mostly targets the physical health of a person, it can also target the mental
health of the individual, and carries with it a heavy psychological burden. Numerous studies have
demonstrated a positive association between obesity and various mental health issues, including
depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, such as binge eating and bulimia, and mood
disorders, anxiety, and substance abuse. Obesity impacts individuals’ quality of life, with many
sufferers experiencing increased stigma and discrimination because of their weight. Several
reviews have suggested that between 20% and 60% of persons with obesity in particular, suffer
from psychiatric illness.
In addition, research suggests that there exists a relationship between excess body weight and
depression, although not always being the case. Persons with extreme obesity, for example, are
almost five times more likely to have experienced an episode of major depression in the past year
as compared with those of average weight. Moreover, one study found that adults with excess
weight had a 55% higher risk of developing depression over their lifetime compared to people
that did not struggle with obesity. In fact, this relationship between obesity and depression seems
to be stronger for women than men, perhaps because of society’s emphasis on thinness as a
characteristic of female beauty. Unfortunately, the adult obesity rate, in the United States only,
stands at 42.4 percent, which is the first time the national obese rate has passed the 40 percent
mark, and further evidence of the increasing risk of these people developing a mental illness.
Obesity is a chronic disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
obesity affects 42.8% of middle-age adults. Obesity is closely related to several other chronic
diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, certain cancers,
joint diseases, and more. Obesity is recognized as a chronic disease by several organizations,
including the American Medical Association. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) defines chronic disease as conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing
medical attention or limit activities of daily living, or both. Three leading chronic diseases are
heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes. Obesity is associated with all three of these chronic
diseases. CDC also acknowledges widespread consequences of obesity when compared to
normal or healthy weight for many serious health conditions, including all causes of death,
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, stroke and many cancers. Of the $3.3
trillion spent annually on medical care for chronic conditions, obesity alone is associated with
$1.4 trillion.
Obesity is a health problem that is more than a "calories-in, calories-out" idea, according to years
of research. Doctors have discovered that certain genes might boost a person's hunger, causing
them to eat more food. Other medical conditions or ailments might also lead to weight increase.
Here are several examples: hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome and polycystic ovarian
syndrome. Weight gain can also be caused by certain drugs used to treat other health problems.
Some antidepressants are examples. Doctors also understand that two people of the same height
can eat the same diet and one of them may be fat while the other is not. This is linked to a
person's resting metabolic rate (the number of calories their body burns) and other health
considerations. Obesity is recognized as a condition by more than just the American Medical
Association. The World Health Organization, the World Obesity Federation, the Canadian
Medical Association, and Obesity Canada are among the organizations that do.

Of course we acknowledge your arguments however, our arguments are stronger than yours. We
know that you may consider that obesity should not be labeled as a disease maybe because it
does not cause a bad influence or diseases to all people who are obese, but this is not always the
case, because several diseases stay masked in our bodies for long periods and sometimes need
years to appear. Also you may argue that even underweight people can develop such chronic
diseases, and this is true but mostly obesity increases the risk of diseases dramatically. Thus,
most of chronic diseases are related to obesity making it by itself a disease.
In 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced obesity as a disease and the main
cause behind it was the lack of willpower and dedication to lose weight. However, in many other
countries such as the United Kingdom, obesity is not labeled as a disease knowing that 63% of
England citizens are considered to be obese or overweight. All in all, the first argument stated
that social acceptance of obesity affects efforts to lose weight which is true. Since the influence
of society affects the person behaviors and psychological health Obesity affect people when they
are adults in workplace because many jobs might accept an employee or not based on their
physical appearance and as children at school, obesity make a child more vulnerable to bullied.
Moving on to the second argument Obesity causes psychological burdens as it can lead to
destructive mental health issues, severe depression, and suicidal thoughts to some people
especially females. Obesity and depression are interrelated as one can lead to the other and vice
versa in many cases. Last but not least, Obesity is now considered as a chronic disease not only
for its psychological effect but also for its physical complications from chronic diseases and
disorders that it can lead to such as hypertension, type 2 Diabetes, heart diseases and strokes.
Finally, Obesity is highly associated with high mortality rates where the mortality rate of people
who were overweight and obese were 47 and 66 per 1000 person-year, respectively. All of this
showed and proved that obesity is and should be considered as a chronic disease in all countries
in order to start lowering the mortality rates and avoid the risk of having other related chronic
diseases, for you, for your heart, health and mental health go healthy and allow your body to
enjoy this life healthy and confident.
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Melody Covington, MD, (2017); Why is Obesity a Disease? By the Obesity Medicine
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