Is Obesity A Disease?

Did you know obesity is now an actual disease in America?

The American Medical Association voted to classify it as a disease last year. Ove
ight millions of Americans became officially “diseased”.

Is this a crazy or clever move? I don’t really know.

Basically they are saying being fat is the same as being sick. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons too much but you can safely say it has split people's opinions. People have come out and said it's gonna be a licence for people NOT to diet and to take pills.

I personally don’t agree with it being classified as a disease but think something BIG needs to be done. Something which includes the food producers and the supermarkets, but I’m a realist and that will never happen. My cynical side sees a situation that was CAUSED by big companies and will now be SOLVED by these big companies too. They profit on both sides of the problem, and the masses suffer.

That’s the main point here in my eyes living in the UK, is that America have agreed to classify obesity as a disease so they can now TREAT IT WITH DRUGS. On a positive note many obese people have trouble accessing proper healthcare and their ailments are not taken seriously as they are deemed to be all weight related. This will change. Insurance companies in the states can now cover obesity because of this.

Will this ever happen in the UK? I think It will, as we follow the US quite closely in lots of things.

I have worked with lots of obese clients and also some “super size” people during my career, one guy who was nearly 50 stone. The common theme in my experience was – psychological.

I think food addictions are as bad as alcohol or drug addictions, and that’s what it is – an ADDICTION. If you HAVE TO EAT sweets, processed carbs, coke, pork scratching, chocolate EVERYDAY
YOU ARE ADDICTED. If you can’t stop, you are addicted.

Your genes, mental health, family and social environment all play a role in addiction:

Risk factors that increase your vulnerability to addiction:
Family history of addictionr
Abuse, neglect, or other traumatic experiences in childhoodr
Mental disorders such as depression and anxietyr
Early abuse of bad foods in childhoodr
Exercise will not solve the problem but can help a bit.

I wonder what you think?

Take care,

Rich