Last month, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially recognized obesity as a disease. This move was done against the recommendation of a committee, the Council on Science and Public Health, that had studied the issue last year.
This decision has opened the door for plenty of criticism. Is obesity a disease or a symptom of disease, genetics and lifestyle choices? While some are hoping that this will cause more physicians to focus on getting down their patients’ weight, which can therefore lower the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, others are lamenting that this will be a boon for Big Pharma, as they will get more of their weight loss drugs (the newer ones include Qsymia and Belviq) into more hands, resulting in obscene profits.
There is no doubt that some obesity is caused by other diseases and genetics. However, today’s hectic sedentary lifestyle and access to cheap, processed fast food is a huge contributor to the growing waistlines of Americans. Sadly, this epidemic of excess weight costs us billions of dollars each year. The Harvard School of Public Health reported that “over the course of a lifetime, per-person costs for obesity were similar to those for smoking. In middle-age men, treatment of five common obesity-related conditions (stroke, coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol) resulted in roughly $9,000 to $17,000 higher costs compared to normal-weight adults.”
Is there a way that we, as a country, can take better control over our health? Should fast food be heavily taxed, as cigarettes are? How do we encourage people to move more and eat better quality food? I have personally been using the products of a well-known nutrition and exercise company for over a decade, which has helped me maintain a healthy weight for years, including through the ups and downs of two pregnancies. Along with many others, I want to “end the trend” of obesity through a combination of workout programs and quality nutritional supplements (not quick fix pills or drugs) that help the average person lose weight and live the life that they deserve. Beyond banishing the uncomfortable “muffin top” scores of people have lost weight, healed disease, gained more energy and transformed their lives by beginning to move more and treating their bodies to the nutrition that they need to thrive, myself included.
If we are going to “end the trend”, we need to remove the barriers that keep most people in a state of obesity. How can we make healthy food more accessible to people of all income and lifestyle levels? Can we put gym class back into schools? How do we make the school lunch program healthier for kids? Can we get healthy fast food restaurants? (Because, face it – people want fast). Should corn be so heavily subsidized by the government? Should obesity even be recognized as a disease? In my mind, this can relegate it to something that “happens to us” as opposed to something of our own doing.
These are complex questions with no short answer. As a parent, I am motivated to stay healthy to provide a good example for my kids. What motivates you?
By: Julie Hurley, Founder of Hurley Health and Wellness
Sources for this article include:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/economic/
