Many people have been having a hard time figuring out if obesity is really a disease or not. Studies have shown that obesity has grown to become a disease for people who “binge” eat and do not have that much physical activity almost every day out of the week.
Meets The Definitions of a Disease
Scott Kahan, MD, MPH, Director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness and Preventive Medicine Physician at Johns Hopkins University, stated obesity “satisfies all the definitions and criteria of what a disease and medical conditions is…The on difference is that people who have obesity have to wear their disease on the outside.”
Studies have shown that obesity disease can be inherited. Genetic disposition plays a large role in determining if a person will be obese. Obesity is a complex disease resulting from the interactions of a wide variety of hereditary and environmental factors. Obesity risk is two to eight times higher for a person with a family history as opposed to a person with no family history of obesity, and an even higher risk is observed in cases of severe obesity.
Can Decrease a Person’s Life Expectancy, Like Other Diseases
The Surgeon General reports an estimated 300,000 deaths per year may be attributed to obesity. People who are obese have a 50-100% increased risk of death from all causes. A July 13, 2016 Lancet meta-study found that even moderate obesity led to an increased chance of early death: 29.5% for men (compared to 19% for men of normal BMI weight) and 14.6% for women (compared to 11%). The authors calculated that one in five premature deaths in North America could be avoided if obese people were normal BMI weights.
Many other diseases can come from obesity and they can also cause death. Obesity can lead to other illnesses from chronic to acute, some very severe and deadly, such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Vascular Disease, Heart attack, stroke, and even cancer.
Medicines Were Made to Prevent Obesity
Two new medicines were made to help get rid of the obesity disease. The two new obesity drugs — Qsymia from Vivus, and Belviq from Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai — have entered the market in the last year.
Qsymia has not sold well for a variety of reasons, including poor reimbursement and distribution restrictions imposed because of concerns that the drug can cause birth defects. Those restrictions are now being relaxed. Belviq went on sale only about a week ago, so it is too early to tell how it is doing.
Meets The Definitions of a Disease
Scott Kahan, MD, MPH, Director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness and Preventive Medicine Physician at Johns Hopkins University, stated obesity “satisfies all the definitions and criteria of what a disease and medical conditions is…The on difference is that people who have obesity have to wear their disease on the outside.”
Studies have shown that obesity disease can be inherited. Genetic disposition plays a large role in determining if a person will be obese. Obesity is a complex disease resulting from the interactions of a wide variety of hereditary and environmental factors. Obesity risk is two to eight times higher for a person with a family history as opposed to a person with no family history of obesity, and an even higher risk is observed in cases of severe obesity.
Can Decrease a Person’s Life Expectancy, Like Other Diseases
The Surgeon General reports an estimated 300,000 deaths per year may be attributed to obesity. People who are obese have a 50-100% increased risk of death from all causes. A July 13, 2016 Lancet meta-study found that even moderate obesity led to an increased chance of early death: 29.5% for men (compared to 19% for men of normal BMI weight) and 14.6% for women (compared to 11%). The authors calculated that one in five premature deaths in North America could be avoided if obese people were normal BMI weights.
Many other diseases can come from obesity and they can also cause death. Obesity can lead to other illnesses from chronic to acute, some very severe and deadly, such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Vascular Disease, Heart attack, stroke, and even cancer.
Medicines Were Made to Prevent Obesity
Two new medicines were made to help get rid of the obesity disease. The two new obesity drugs — Qsymia from Vivus, and Belviq from Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai — have entered the market in the last year.
Qsymia has not sold well for a variety of reasons, including poor reimbursement and distribution restrictions imposed because of concerns that the drug can cause birth defects. Those restrictions are now being relaxed. Belviq went on sale only about a week ago, so it is too early to tell how it is doing.