Should Obesity be labeled a lifestyle or a Disease?

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date of Submission Is Obesity a Disease or a Lifestyle Choice? Introduction Obesity is generally defined as extreme accumulation of adipose tissue in the body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there has been a rapid increase in cases of obesity across the globe and obesity is becoming a global epidemic especially in the Western countries where over one billion people have been categorized as being overweight. In the developing countries, the rate of obesity is also on the rise at an alarming rate. The risks of obesity are associated with the fact that; obesity contributes to a number of chronic diseases that are detrimental to the health of the individual. In the United States, the incidence of obesity is also high and obesity cases are noted to have “more than doubled in the past 20 years’ and at the same time, obesity among Americans is the highest compared to other developed countries. In fact, 27% of the American children are noted to be obese or overweight (Detroit). With these statistics, there has been increasing discussion regarding whether obesity is a disease or a lifestyle choice. The rising incidence of obesity has brought about a spirited debate with some people pointing out that obesity is a disease while another group of people insists that obesity is a lifestyle. Obesity as a Disease According to the American Medical Association, obesity should be treated as a disease since it fits the definition that is given about a disease. As per the guidelines given by the AMA, a disease is defined as anything that hinders the normal functioning of the body and has certain symptoms or signs. A disease is also defined as anything that brings harm or the inability to act normally. By following these guidelines, it is highly appropriate to categorize obesity as a disease. This viewpoint means that obesity is something that can be treated if doctors put the rights focus into the issue and if research and development is used as an option for establishing a cure for this ailment (Wexler). Under the new guideline, insurance companies are now supposed to cater for nutrition counseling since obesity comes alongside other life threatening conditions. The AMA notes that screening should be consistently done for diabetic people in order to help them in living healthy lifestyles. The view that obesity is a disease is dependent on various studies which show that obesity is caused by genes. Over the years, there have been various studies which indicate that obesity is heritable. In a recent review, it was pointed out that twin and adoption literature point to a genetic distribution for body mass index (BMI) of 50-75% while an earlier review suggested that genetic factors are responsible for 60-92% of BMI. The results of genetic studies where presented separately for normal and disabled adolescents, appear similar in many versions. Overall, the deductions of these studies mean that genetic configurations are widely responsible for obesity. There has been widespread support for this view with some people claiming that treating obese people in any other way is wrong as it leads to the branding of obese people as lazy something that is incorrect. The problem with this view is that there i...