What is obesity? We all know it when we see it but do we know what causes it? Many people think that obesity is down to laziness and greed. Obesity is, however, more serious than someone carrying a few extra pounds. It is a medical, life limiting condition and people who suffer from it deserve help and support. Obesity is an issue for one in three Americans and the AMA took the decision in order to impact on the way doctors and other medical professionals approach those suffering from the disease. Many other health issues (Type II Diabetes and Heart Disease) are linked to or made worse by obesity so treating and preventing obesity should have a positive effect on instances of many other conditions. In Sweden it has been accepted that obesity is increasingly prevalent, particularly amongst young people and as such policy makers need to look at targeting the problem and its associated social, personal and economic costs. The American Medical Association (AMA) took the decision, on June 18, 2013, to classify obesity as a disease. This was a controversial decision that is still being debated today. The debate gives rise to strong feelings on both sides. Here are our 10 reasons why obesity is a disease.

10.Obesity Has Always Been Treated As a Disease

As far back as the Ancient Greeks Hippocrates defined obesity as a disease noting that it could case impotence and sexual problems. Plutarch exhorted people to avoid indulging in delicacies and Galen invented the 'fat camp' when he 'reduced a huge fat fellow to moderates size…by making him run every morning until he fell into a profuse sweat'.

9.Doctors Say It Is

Doctors are experts in disease and how to cure it. If they say something is a disease we should listen to them! The AMA decided it was a disease in 2013 and the FDA, American College of Gastroenterology and the American Heart Association, amongst others, all agree. Nor is the US the only country where doctors make this claim. In Malaysia Dr Tee E Siong o the Nutrition Society of Malaysia and Professor Dr Mohd Ismail Noor of the Malaysian Society for the Study of Obesity say it should be referred to as a disease 'so that the public can be more aware of the dangers of the condition'. Obesity Australia is also campaigning for formal recognition of obesity as a disease to 'remove stigma and reduce obesity rates.'

8.The World Health Organisation Says It Is

Obesity was already formally classified as a disease by The World Health Organisation when it was founded (back in 1948). Obesity was, however, ignored for a long time as it was seen to be a problem of the developed world. By 1988 the World Health Organisation Obesity Report showed that obesity was becoming a worldwide problem. WHO's factsheet 'Obesity and Overweight' gives advice to individuals, society and food manufacturers on how to combat obesity and other related 'noncommunicable' diseases.

7.Obesity Can Be Inherited

No matter how healthy a lifestyle, how well people eat, some people are simply predisposed to be obese. People who suffer from conditions such as Prader-Willi Syndrome or a congenital condition such as hyperthyroidism are likely to be obese – sometimes from a young age.

6.Obesity Has an Impact on Life Expectancy

If someone who is not obese suffers from a condition that reduces their life expectancy most people would be comfortable labelling that condition a disease or illness. Lung Cancer is a disease whether or not the person who has it was a smoker. Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease whether or not the sufferer is a drinker. WHO states that 3.4 million adults die from obesity each year. Shockingly 65% of the world's population now live in countries where obesity is more of a health risk than being underweight. The sad fact is that obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide by as much as 10 years in the most extreme cases. If any other condition had this type of major impact there would be no debate about whether or not it should be classified as a disease – indeed there would be an outcry if it was not.

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