Obesity a disease?

Colliex3

So it's being said that obesity is being classified as a disease now. There are a lot of opinions about this going around some leaning more towards the nasty side. Do you believe it should be classified as a disease or as some people say "it's just people that can't get control or are too lazy". What's your opinion?

betterthanbefpre

Hmmm...well I think there are always exceptions for the rule but moreover what I have witnessed in my life is that it's personal decisions that get you that way. ie...eating poorly and not exercising leads you to obesity and therefore can limit your life and bring on disease.

6spdeg

well coming from that point like many others.. Most are lazy unless some medical issue.

Is laziness a disease?

mariposa224

Obesity can be *caused* by certain diseases, however, I don't believe it to be a disease in and of itself. The definition of "disease" is so loose, though, that just about anything could be classified as a disease.

I *get* that this could be helpful for a lot of people, enabling them to get medical treatment that wouldn't have necessarily been covered previously... However, I also see it as something that is going to cause insurance rates to increase overall (for everyone) as a result. As if the fact that they're going to skyrocket next year ANYWAY wasn't enough, now we have this.

Chadomaniac

Obesity IS a disease , I personally know someone that suffers from it and its a legit disorder just like anorexia. To say that a 500pound person is like that because they selfish and lazy is just illogical.
Do lots of research and make up your own mind .

AbsoluteNG

well coming from that point like many others.. Most are lazy unless some medical issue.

Is laziness a disease?

Yes. Not all diseases are caused from a virus or bacteria but are in fact caused by inactivity. The two big ones are heart disease and diabetes type 2. Heart disease literally has the word disease in it so it's hard to argue with that. Liver disease can also be attributed to laziness and not a parasites, virus, or bacteria.


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6spdeg

so is inactivity not a choice??

if not a medical reason for not moving.

they say it affects 1 in 3 americans.. wonder if this is the most widely spread disease ever.

AbsoluteNG

so is inactivity not a choice??

if not a medical reason for not moving.

Don't know what you mean. You could "choose" to have unprotected sex and get HIV just as some could choose to be inactive and get heart disease or something not associated with a virus, bacteria, or parasite.


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6spdeg

this is not something that is contracted or stays dormant in your body til activated etc.. this is in a simple term brought on by being lazy.

so laziness = condom

BananaFaceFace

Obesity IS a disease , I personally know someone that suffers from it and its a legit disorder just like anorexia. To say that a 500pound person is like that because they selfish and lazy is just illogical.
Do lots of research and make up your own mind .

I agree with this 100%

jigr69

From the people I know who are obese, it is all through choices that they've made, not down to some illness. It is the lack of self control that is the issue.

I watched a documentary about humans which talked about evolution of humans and Professor Robert Winston had a 300 meter string between two posts and then put the tip of his pencil at one end. He said that the tip represented the amount of time in evolution that food was plentiful. He stated that it is human nature to eat as much as possible when it was available as evolution taught us that we'd never know when the next meal was going to come. Most mammals are no different (hence fat cats and dogs etc).

It is self control and being aware of whats good for your health and what isn't, obesity is not a disease!

maab12

Im not sure if Obesity is really a disease. I'm Morbid Obese and I just think its because I'm lazy and I just don't want to control My eating habits.
However there is something that is classified as an eating disorder and its called binging. I am one of those people It happens and a lot of time you just cant stop yourself and before you realize it you a eat 20 times the amount you should. don't jump down my throat and tell me its all self control.
Having taken abnormal psychology in college as well as a few other courses just like bulimia and anorexia is a eating disorder so is binging.
to tell you the truth there is a difference between stuffing my face and binging when I stuff my face I know exactly what I am doing and I don't care. when I binge I just don't know what happened until its over and the guilt resentment the I cant do it sets in. which leads up to more eating. I haven't done it in a while.


but obesity in of itself No I cant see it being a disease. there are ways to control and help fix it with out tagging on the excuse its a disease so I don't have to deal with it.

6spdeg

From the people I know who are obese, it is all through choices that they've made, not down to some illness. It is the lack of self control that is the issue.

I watched a documentary about humans which talked about evolution of humans and Professor Robert Winston had a 300 meter string between two posts and then put the tip of his pencil at one end. He said that the tip represented the amount of time in evolution that food was plentiful. He stated that it is human nature to eat as much as possible when it was available as evolution taught us that we'd never know when the next meal was going to come. Most mammals are no different (hence fat cats and dogs etc).

It is self control and being aware of whats good for your health and what isn't, obesity is not a disease!

well put

JBApplebee

this is not something that is contracted or stays dormant in your body til activated etc.. this is in a simple term brought on by being lazy.

so laziness = condom

This is such an over-simplification of the topic. In many cases it's correct, but in many more, it couldn't be further from the truth. There are many people who battle obesity & are active, but cannot simply increase their activity level due to other factors, such as injury, illness or genetics.

It's like saying alcoholism isn't a disease, it's a choice.

Tiffa0909

I think Obesity is a eating disorder , is just two different extremes.

6spdeg

this is not something that is contracted or stays dormant in your body til activated etc.. this is in a simple term brought on by being lazy.

so laziness = condom

This is such an over-simplification of the topic. In many cases it's correct, but in many more, it couldn't be further from the truth. There are many people who battle obesity & are active, but cannot simply increase their activity level due to other factors, such as injury, illness or genetics.

It's like saying alcoholism isn't a disease, it's a choice.

so alcohol = laziness

i did state other than possible medical issues

however there really isnt much out there that cant be considered a disease. SO yea practically anything can be called a disease. technically.
A disease is an abnormal condition that affects the body of an organism. It is often construed as a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs.[1] It may be caused by factors originally from an external source, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. In humans, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections, isolated symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts and for other purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories. Diseases usually affect people not only physically, but also emotionally, as contracting and living with many diseases can alter one's perspective on life, and their personality.

ScottyNoHotty

So now thats its labeled as a disease, will weight loss supplements be covered by Obamacare??

debbash68

Although a lot of issues re obesity are down to the individual, eg genetics, diet when young, behaviours, it still isn't as simple as that!
It also is seen, in general, as the poverty diet. That is it may be seen as choice but sometimes people choose over processed easy, cheap foods, as they cant really afford fresh foods every daySo perhaps the food producers also have,some responsibility. Also everything is super sized so some cultural issues which need addressing, so again if these are on offer people will take it, but this has the knock on effect of shifting the norm for portion size. Just some thoughts!

6spdeg

Before the voice vote, Dr. Virginia Hall, an obstetrician from Hershey, Pa., said the AMA should call obesity a disease so "insurers can stop ducking their responsibility" in paying for obesity treatments, according to a Forbes report by Bruce Japsen.

debbash68

So now thats its labeled as a disease, will weight loss supplements be covered by Obamacare??

They are covered in uk by nhs as is gastric surgery as it is thought the benefits of the surgery cost outweigh the cost of long term illnesses associated with obesity

celtbell3

I believe that at times people hide behind the easy way out - obesity IMO is an epidemic not a disease. That said, there are people who have more difficulties in maintaining a healthy weight due to other medical problems. I try not to judge.

JustJennie1

Before the voice vote, Dr. Virginia Hall, an obstetrician from Hershey, Pa., said the AMA should call obesity a disease so "insurers can stop ducking their responsibility" in paying for obesity treatments, according to a Forbes report by Bruce Japsen.

It's not that they are "ducking their responsibility". There's an evaluation process that the person has to go through to determine whether or not the surgery will be covered. A good friend of mine is a nurse who works for an insurance company that does the evaluation process. It's not just a "nope. Sorry. Not covered." There are questions, things the insured has to do on their own, doctor visits etc. etc. etc. It's a pretty detailed process. If the surgery is approved then it's covered. So it's not as cut and dry as that.

6spdeg

Some experts worry suddenly declaring one-third of Americans "ill" or "sick" will increase the desire for quick interventions or medications and discourage people from making the lifestyle changes known to combat obesity.

This is very true.. seems like most want the easy way out hence the HUGE market for gimmicks ( shakes, wraps, creams, snake oil)

ccllnply

In my opinion, a disease should be classified as a virus, bacteria, chemical imbalance etc. which is harmful to a being and that they have no choice over. For instance, depression is harmful to you and you can't choose to not be depressed.

You can, however, choose to eat less calories than you burn. I'm no doctor but I don't think there is a disease which stops your body burning calories. You won't be obese if you make that choice. I can't talk really since I don't have a serious disease but, in principle, it's pretty insulting to people who have actually diseases if you classified obesity as one as well.

Plus, again, in principle, it's insulting to classified someone who doesn't care about their weight and just wants to eat a piece of cake in peace, as having a disease.

I'm starting to understand all those people who complain that everything needs a name or to be classified lately

debbash68

In my opinion, a disease should be classified as a virus, bacteria, chemical imbalance etc. which is harmful to a being and that they have no choice over. For instance, depression is harmful to you and you can't choose to not be depressed.

It could be argued you can choose to be depressed by the behaviours you exhibit as a result of your thoughts, actually could be quite similar to obesity, and of course we all know the links between depression and variation on weight/ motivation/ sense of self control. Perhaps the 2 have similarities

RGv2

so is inactivity not a choice??

if not a medical reason for not moving.

Don't know what you mean. You could "choose" to have unprotected sex and get HIV just as some could choose to be inactive and get heart disease or something not associated with a virus, bacteria, or parasite.


.

This is a terrible comparison. That's like saying someone who decides to only have unprotected sex has "a disease". It isn't saying that we wouldn't treat those with diseases that could have been brought on by obesity, now they want to claim that the obesity itself is a disease. Big difference.

ninerbuff

My opinion is that this is a political move on the government to get more funding for research and treatment from the government. Possibly also supported by insurance companies to further legitimately give them reason to have obese people pay even higher insurance premiums.

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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ldrosophila

It's a world wide epidemic affecting all classes of people from the rich to the poor. You better believe it's a disease.

chellly

I disagree that the state of being obese is a disease. Addiction, depression, physical impairments that prevent movement...these issues can lead to obesity. Obesity itself isn't the disease. It's a matter of cause and effect.

We live in a society of instant gratification which feeds (pardon the pun) the obesity epidemic. We are overscheduled, exhausted, bombarded with quick yet crappy processed food, the list goes on and on. And you know what, sometimes people truly are downright lazy.

I'm guilty of all of the above and I own it. My making excuses has led me down the path of health issues because of my weight. I saw my father and grandmother go through the exact same things and STILL I didn't make the right choices. And sometimes I still don't. I'm working on it.

My obesity is not a disease. It is the result of poor choices, emotional eating, and making excuses. And I hate exercising. Like I said, I'm working on it. Some days are better than others.

Lovdiamnd

Why is this being discussed on like 4 or 5 different threads?

6spdeg

Why is this being discussed on like 4 or 5 different threads?

just to keep you busy!