Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- Obesity - Obesity defined as a disease
- Obesity - Pro 1: Obesity is widely defined as a disease by medical groups.
- obesity - Health effects of obesity
- Obesity - Pro 2: Treating obesity as a disease lowers the risk of other diseases.
- Obesity - Pro 3: Treating obesity as a disease has social value by lowering the stigma associated with being fat.
- Obesity - Sources
Why do some medical organizations classify obesity as a disease?
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obesity
The excessive accumulation of body fat can cause serious medical conditions.
Many major health organizations, including the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, classify obesity as a disease to better address it as a serious medical condition rather than a personal failing or character flaw.12
Proponents of this classification argue that it provides several critical benefits:
- Improved Access to Care: Defining obesity as a chronic disease encourages patients to seek professional medical help and increases the likelihood that they will receive necessary, multi-pillared treatments, including medication and lifestyle interventions.23
- Reduced Stigma: Labeling obesity as a disease helps combat the harmful societal bias that views weight solely as a result of laziness or lack of willpower, which can be a paralyzing barrier to treatment.4
- Health Outcomes: Because obesity involves impaired metabolic pathways and disordered signaling for hunger and fullness, medical treatment can help lower the risk of associated conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.23
While this classification is widely adopted, it remains controversial; some experts argue that obesity is better understood as a harbinger of other diseases rather than a disease in itself.1