“We are at a tipping point. The scientific consensus and the mountain of evidence that have been built around the disease of obesity and its treatment cannot be ignored,”

The declaration of the American Medical Association (AMA) earlier this week, voting obesity as a disease has been received with much fanfare. In reality, the AMA is the latest of many societies which have previously come to this conclusion including the Social Security Administration and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology. Obesity is now increasingly being regarded as a pathological disease state, which in turn will decrease bias against the condition and people suffering from it, but more importantly encourage governments and healthcare systems to increase funds allocated to fighting obesity. Traditionally, money has been channelled into prevention programs aimed at children and youth, whilst this is extremely important, one must also consider funding effective measures to reduce weight in individuals who are already morbidly obese.

“Obesity is a complex condition with numerous causes, many of which are largely beyond an individual’s control. The disease is a driver of much suffering, ill health and early mortality. People affected are too often subjected to enormous social stigma and discrimination.”