Obesity is now a disease?!

1longroad

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/obesity_is_now_disease_american_mylrVh3M7FCgrnoHGmsFpN

So, what do you all think?

pastryari

It's not a disease, it's a choice. (barring any medical conditions that obesity would be a symptom of)


ETA disclaimer because...well, this is MFP.

HerpDerp745

Whew. For a second there I thought I was responsible for my own health. It's good to know it's actually just a disease. Now our insurance premiums can pay for the obese!

whierd

It is a behavioral issue, not a disease.

Change your behavior, change your obesity. Ding ding ding!

1longroad

I agree with all of your opinions, believing we choose to eat what/how we eat. In a society, where alcoholism is considered a disease, would you expect a different approach to obesity?

It seems as if the AMA thinks we are too backward to take responsibility for our actions! Sheesh!

55in13

It is a behavioral issue, not a disease.

Change your behavior, change your obesity. Ding ding ding!

I agree with all of your opinions, believing we choose to eat what/how we eat. In a society, where alcoholism is considered a disease, would you expect a different approach to obesity?

It seems as if the AMA thinks we are too backward to take responsibility for our actions! Sheesh!

A few years back, there was some proposal in psychiatry about classifying a disorder for not taking responsibility for obesity. I don't remember what they were trying to call it, but in the article I read they were using doctor and patient surveys to find that the doctors said that less than 5% of their obese patients had a medical condition that caused or significantly contributed to their obesity while over 40% of the patients claimed they had a diagnosed condition. So it seems that we (or at least about a third of us) are "too backward to take responsibility for our actions".