10 Hidden Truth About Obesity: Is It Really a Disease?

Obesity as a Disease Debate: There is no consensus in the medical community on whether obesity should be classified as a disease.

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BMI Limitations: Body Mass Index (BMI) is widely used to diagnose obesity, but it’s an imprecise tool that doesn’t account for body fat distribution or overall health.

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Obesity and New Drugs: The rise of effective weight loss drugs like Ozempic is driving a renewed push to define obesity accurately for better healthcare management.

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Global Perspective: Different countries and health organizations, including the American Medical Association and World Health Organization, have conflicting views on labeling obesity as a disease.

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Misdiagnosis Issues: The use of BMI may lead to overdiagnosis in healthy individuals and underdiagnosis in those with hidden fat-related health risks.

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Insurance and Stigma: Recognizing obesity as a disease helps secure insurance coverage and reduce stigma, but it also complicates who gets treatment and how resources are allocated.

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Complexity of Fat: Excess fat can be a symptom, a disease, or a risk factor for other health problems, complicating the definition of obesity.

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Obesity's Root Causes: The increase in obesity rates is not solely due to personal choices, but rather environmental factors interacting with genetic susceptibilities.

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Impact of Mislabeling: Labeling obesity without a precise definition has led to mistreatment, overtreatment, and stigma in both the medical field and society.

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Calls for Redefinition: A Lancet commission is working on a more precise definition of “clinical obesity,” which aims to go beyond BMI and diagnose obesity based on a more comprehensive set of medical criteria.

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