Obese individuals face discrimination on a daily basis due to their size. This article in the Huffington Post highlights the plight of 14 women who have experienced the negative cultural attitude first hand. What is also not very well advertised but interesting to know, is that this attitude extends to weight loss surgery in all respects. There have been many instances in my career when the rationale for providing this surgery and the long term follow up required, has been questioned or ignored by individuals within the medical field or outside it because obesity is perceived as a self-inflicted extravagance. This perception needs to be challenged, as research has shown that obese individuals do not lack the motivation or drive to lose weight on their own, however the metabolic regulators of the body are dysfunctional, such that following successful weight loss, weight regain to its original level is exceedingly common. This pattern is now referred to as the “yo-yo” effect.

People need to open up their minds to evidence from research into obesity and change this negative culture that engulfs individuals suffering with this condition.