AMA classifies obesity as a disease (Page 3)

They are slower?

As someone who has gone from 275 (BMI obese) to 185 (BMI normal), yes, I have chosen sugar as a "drug" before.  I have gone to various 12 step meetings for both issues, and have heard that sentiment (the old saying is the alcoholic can lock the tiger in a cage, the overeater has to take it out every day 3 x for a walk).  It can be a struggle for some of us.  If I let myself go, and do not make rational food choices with an eye towards health and weight loss as a goal, I'd find myself eating ding dongs every day.  Not an excuse, just my thing.  Exhibiting different behavior is an every day exercise that requires focus but neither impossible nor an excuse. 

Is it a disease?  I don't think so.  At least not a physical one

And that's a choice you make.
There are consequences. If you want to debate that it's an addiction that could lead to obesity as a disease, then help via mental health specialists and nutritionists, should be sought.

There are studies involving brain scans of very obese people showing their pleasure centers of the brain were not activated with a small amount of food. Over time, eating high sugar, nutritionally empty food: that is made with the PURPOSE of the eater not being satisfied....doesn't satisfy them and they want more.

Good calories, Bad calories is a very interesting book on the topic if anyone here actually wants to read more about the subject.

Salt, sugar, fat is also a shocking look into the (junk) food production industry.

The NYT published a section of the book here: salt, sugar, fat.

Jumping in a little late, but I didn't see anyone mention "programming".

one possible explanation for why the biological child was obese is not necessarily just the genes that he got from his parents but the fetal programming (contributed to by the food, exercise, blood pressure, hormones etc of Mom) that took place (in utero) during his (obese) mother's pregnancy.  It might seem like splitting hairs a bit, but genetics and fetal programming are technically different and both can impact obesity.

I'm actually not debating anything. A "condition" does not meet a
Webster's definition to become a disease. It has to meet a lot of criteria. Like a progression, similar symptoms in other people... so on so forth.

The determination as a "disease" is not some magical thing. It is a relief for some, it is a scourge to others. Nor is it any sort of silver bullet absolving all of choices they make and bad behavior.

Alcoholism has been a disease for over 80 years.... does anybody ever just sit around and accept alcoholics behavior because they have disease? Do alcoholics get a free ride in society and special privileges because they have a disease. The answer is obviously no.

There is a saying that some say that goes.... "I'm not responsible for the disease, but I am responsible for what I do with it". Explanations and definitions do not equal excuses.

In some ways I get it, it some I do not. I'm really glad I'm not 400 lbs. My sister is. I do not get it. My whole life, I could eat a horse and not gain a pound. My metabolism has slowed a bit... but for the age I am, and the appetite I have, I can still destroy my peers at a dinner table... and they are all overweight. I have no idea why obesity is the way it is in my family. I have heard all sides. I'm lucky, my problems are not visible.

So, so well said.

Chunga, you're one of my favorite people on this board.

Here you go... here is a NPR story, and if you click on the link in it, you get the report. No reason NPR... other than they linked it. I was looking for criteria to call something a disease. I have seen it before, but could not find it today.

NPR Story

Report

Word to your Mother.

I struggle with your post Erin, but firstly, great job on overcoming your issues and continuing to work on them.  And you are totally right.....no matter why, overweight people do not deserve to be treated badly no matter the reason they are overweight.  You know what, we ALL have our issues.  It's just that when over eating is your issue you have to wear it for everyone to see every single day.

The reason I struggle with the post is that you talk about how hard you had to work and continue to work in order to get to a point where you feel healthy.  That kind of helps to make the point of those here who say that obesity is a product of being lazy or apathetic.  You did the research, you enlisted help, you busted your butt to be on track.  So why can't others do that?  I sometimes feel that if all overweight people were like you, we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic.

The genetic component is a tricky one.  By saying obesity is a genetic thing, I think the danger is that some people jump to the conclusion that the body fat itself is the genetic factor, like certain bodies are just meant to grow up to have an obese amount of fat.  So it almost becomes like an excuse to be overweight.  Sure, some bodies are not genetically meant to be thin and some people have a harder time than others losing weight, but no one is born genetically programmed to be obese unless they have a serious medical condition which is a very, very small percentage of people.

But I don't think that's what we've been talking about here.  We've been talking about the mental aspect of it as the genetic link.  In other words, you're born with something in your brain that makes eating a moderate amount of food very difficult.  That's what it means to say that alcoholism is a disease.  It's a disease of the mind.  If we do look at obesity as a disease, it should be viewed as a disease of the mind and treated accordingly.

Eating disorders are already classified as diseases.  To go beyond that and say that obesity in and of itself, not the mental aspect of the issue, but just the obesity itself is a disease.....I don't agree with that.

chunga & erin - thanks for your posts.  the obesity hatred bothers me.  my husband does it too...judging someone just because they are fat?  like second-class citizens?  we were the ones sitting at sonic right at 8 pm when shakes went half off last night.

this doesn't touch on the OP but i'm glad you shared your stories.  as for the disease classification - i don't know how "disease" is defined by the AMA so i'm not sure if they are making the correct decision or not.  but whether it is a disease or not, there is no reason to be so ugly towards fellow human beings.  the cart full of junk food in the grocery store is the RARE case, not the norm.

OK, so I could, and probably will, write a 1500 word blog post on this. But I won't do that here. I'll just throw out an outline.

The AMA may have its reasons, but dude, you are not helping. ( Yes I just referred to the AMA as dude.)

I do not think that the NAAFA is helping either. (Google it)

I do think it is worth asking why Americans are more obese and ill from related diseases than anyone. It is also worth noting that as we export our lifestyle, other cultures begin to reflect this obesity. This cannot all be as simple as laziness.

I live among people (I don't mean in my house, I mean community) who do not have any interest in changing their obesity, and that makes me sad. I know this not from making assumptions by looking at them, I do so from real human conversation.

I have yet to meet a person in real life who will be bold enough to call me a lazy POS to my face, even if he is definitely fast enough to outrun me. So Sous, you may have some valid arguments, but you lost me with your facile dismissal of a large group of people. (And group of large people) as somehow all less-than-human. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And hell yeah, we fat people love our honey. But seriously, we carry the evidence of our weakness for the world to see. A child abuser, a cocaine addict, a philandering spouse can all live in anonymity. But our "sin" is on display.

For those of us who do not wish to remain this way, as Erin said, we've called ourselves the names already. I do bad all by myself, I don't need your "help."

The semantics of disease vs addiction vs something else are important. I shied away from a 12step program for years beause I refused to use the word "disease." But let me tell you, no one I have met in 12step is sitting around crying about things being the fault of everyone else. They are recognizing what reality is in their life. You on the outside can call it addiction, disease, condition, sin, laziness, it doesn't much matter what you want to say it is. They determine what to call it for themselves, and only then they can begin to change it. And lazy P'sOS do not change anything.

I get it. Our society is demonstrating more openly, all the time, a trend and desire to remove personal responsibility. I think this "issue" is far more complicated than anyone is giving credit to. I think Erin's contributions to this thread have been most helpful in getting me to expand my thinking. But as easy as it is for some people to grasp at anything that tells them it's someone else's fault, it appears equally as easy for some people to paint all obese people with the same broad brush. Neither attitude is helpful.

Folks this is what I call a SHORT post. That's some overwating of words right there.

Edited by TheClaaaw 2013-06-20 7:48 AM

I actually do think we need to decouple them.  I think it was said best earlier: obesity is not the disease, it is a SYMPTOM.  And it's not a symptom of the same thing for every person.

For those who simply don't care or try, it's a symptom of laziness or apathy.

For those with an actual physical disorder, for example hypothalmus receptor issues like you mentioned, it's a symptom of that disorder.

For those who have an eating disorder, it's a symptom of that disorder.

This is a problem with traditional medicine.  At times (not all the time), it treats symptoms without figuring out the underlying cause of the symptom.  

My fear is that by calling the symptom of obesity a disease, MD's will simply throw drugs at it without figuring out if there is something deeper there.....especially if that thing is a mental or emotional disorder, which I think with obesity it often is.

I definitely agree that in SOME cases obesity is not just due to laziness/weak willpower.......but I do think SOME obese people are only obese because they are lazy and/or lack willpower.  In SOME cases you could call that lack of willpower an eating disorder.  In SOME cases you would be right.