Why Obesity Is a Disease

Cally Smith, FNP-C

Struggling with excess weight isn’t just the food choices someone makes.

Many say they have tried every diet known to man and failed. The failure is not their fault, it’s the diet plan.

Obesity is a disease, and it needs to be treated like one. Environment, diet, and psychology all play an integral role in its treatment. Here’s what the science says.

What the Research Says

In 2013 the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease.

The Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) defines obesity as a “chronic, relapsing, multi-factorial, neurobehavioral disease, wherein an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass physical forces, resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanics, and psychosocial health consequences.”

In simple terms, losing weight is not as simple as eating less and moving more.

A person with obesity doesn’t have the same metabolism as a person who doesn’t. Research tells us that a person with obesity has more hunger and can store fat more readily.

How to Treat this Disease

As clinicians specializing in Obesity Medicine, we will employ therapeutic interventions including diet, physical activity, behavioral change, and pharmacotherapy. Your obesity medicine specialist will utilize a comprehensive approach, including additional resources such as nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and psychologists. The weight loss plan with be tailored to you: your health and your weight matter.

Is Obesity a Disease?

References: Obesity Medicine Association. (2017). Obesity Algorithm.

This is How You Lose the Weight, Once and For All

If you’re ready to say goodbye to quick fixes that never last? And you’re serious about losing the weight for good? We’re the experts you can trust to guide you through a weight loss program that will not only take the weight off but keep it off.
Schedule a consultation with us today.