Major medical organizations consider obesity a chronic disease, while some professionals and medical associations may disagree. Obesity can increase the risk of developing health problems like heart disease and diabetes.
In general, obesity refers to excess fat in the body, also called adipose tissue. Sometimes doctors may use the term “adiposity.” This term describes the state of excess fatty tissue in the body.
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Despite the lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria for obesity, the AMA said it released this new definition to have a positive impact on the healthcare system, public policy and people living with obesity.
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The debate continues in some medical circles and in other countries, such as the United Kingdom. here is a
- A lack of diagnostic criteria: Classifying a condition as a disease implies that certain standards and criteria must be met for its diagnosis. Obesity does not present characteristic or unique symptoms and does not always lead to the same disorders of bodily functions. The lack of consistent diagnostic criteria may make it more difficult to categorize obesity as a disease.
- Inconsistent measurement standards: Because the indices and standards for measuring obesity don’t apply to everyone, such as endurance athletes and weightlifters, doctors can’t always use them to diagnose obesity. In other words, higher weight does not always mean obesity.
- Overall health as a factor: Obesity affects the body in many ways and can increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, but not all obese people develop health problems or symptoms. Additionally, not everyone with health problems develops obesity.
- Patient responsibility and public policies: Some people may worry that categorizing obesity as a disease may remove responsibility from the person and promote the feeling that
lifestyle guidelines will not help them as much if they have the disease. Instead, some people may tend to rely on medications for weight loss Or medical interventions losing weight. Public and insurance policies may be modified to adapt to these changes. - Increased discrimination may result: Some groups, such as Fat acceptance at all sizes the movement and International Size Acceptance Associationexpressed concern that defining obesity as a disease allows others to further separate and classify people based on weight parameters.
Doctors can use types of body fat, total body weight, height and build to decide if obesity is present. Two common measurements are body mass index (BMI) and waist size.
Body mass index
BMI is your body weight divided by your height squared. Doctors can use BMI to assign one of these weight categories:
- underweight (low BMI)
- standard weight
- Overweight
- obesity (high BMI)
A common formula for calculating BMI is to divide your body weight in pounds by your height in square inches, multiplied by 703. This converts the measurement to the unit of BMI in kilograms per square meter (kg/m2).
For example, if you are 5’6″ tall and weigh 150 pounds, your BMI is 24.2 kg/m.2. Usually, your BMI score is just a number.
A BMI calculator like this Diabetes Canada or the
THE American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery defines three classes of obesity based on BMI:
- class I obesity: 30-34.9
- class II obesity, or severe obesity: 35-39.9
- class III obesity, or severe obesity: 40 years and over
Waist size
A healthcare professional may consider you to have central obesity if you have a large waistline or if your waist/hip ratio is high, even if your BMI is in the “overweight” category.
Excess abdominal fat compared to the rest of your body can lead to a higher risk of health complications, even if your BMI does not indicate obesity.
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You can find out your waist size by measuring your waist just above your hip bones.
BMI and waist-to-hip ratio are only estimates of body fat and cannot always determine whether a person is living with obesity. For example, some bodybuilders and performance athletes have a muscle composition that can lead to a BMI close to obesity.
Some medical and health organizations like the CDC and AMA define obesity as a chronic disease. The goal of this definition is to develop clear strategies that help prevent and treat obesity-related health complications.
Other medical experts, private associations, and countries may disagree or hesitate to define obesity as a disease. Reasons include the risk of increased weight stigma, lack of diagnostic criteria, and individual differences in health among obese people.
Research and clinical evidence suggest that being overweight and obese tends to increase the risk of health complications, including diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea. Yet there is no single characteristic or symptom that doctors can attribute to obesity.
