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Review
. 2016 Sep;45(3):511-20.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2016.04.004.

Regarding Obesity as a Disease: Evolving Policies and Their Implications

Theodore K Kyle  1 , Emily J Dhurandhar  2 , David B Allison  3
Affiliations
Review

Regarding Obesity as a Disease: Evolving Policies and Their Implications

Theodore K Kyle et al. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

In 2013, the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a complex, chronic disease requiring medical attention. Defining obesity as a disease is a very public process, largely driven by expectation of costs and benefits. Although the public has been slow to embrace this definition, evidence is emerging for broader awareness of influencing factors beyond personal choice. This decision seems to be working with other factors to bring more access to care, less blame for people with the condition, and more favorable conditions for research to identify effective strategies for prevention and clinical care to reduce the impact.

Keywords: Access to health care; Chronic disease; Health care economics and organizations; Health policy; Medicalization; Obesity; Social stigma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Milestones toward Considering Obesity to Be a Disease
Large open circles represent key milestones; smaller circles represent other noteworthy milestones.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Interest over Time in “Obesity Disease”
The vertical axis is an index of the relative popularity (measured by number of searches) for the search term (obesity disease), compared to all Internet searches completed on Google at a given time. Source: Google Trends Internet Search Index.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Trend in Public Perception that Obesity Is a “Personal Problem of Bad Choces”
Between Feb 2013 and Mar 2015, the proportion of the public that views obesity primarily as a “personal problem of bad choices” declined modestly (p=0.0004, binomial regression) from 44% to 36%. Adapted from Kyle et al.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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