Is Obesity a Disease?

In June 2013, the American Medical Association officially voted to classify obesity as a disease. While this classification doesn’t have legal weight, it provides support for individuals arguing that obesity should be considered a protected ADA disability—which could open the door for discrimination claims.

Let’s take a look at the rationale behind this change.

Obesity as a Disease: How Does it Qualify?

Let’s take a step back and look at the definition of disease. A disease is an impairment of normal functioning of some aspect of the body. It has characteristic signs or symptoms. And it causes harm or morbidity.

So, is obesity a disease? Let’s look at the aspects.

Is there an impairment of function? Yes.

“We know this is a hormonal disease. We know that there’s impairment of functioning of appetite regulation, there’s energy imbalance, there’s endocrine function. I’m not going to bore you with all of the science we know about this, but it’s a very complex disease process and we know an awful lot about it at this point.” Ethan Lazarus explained in a recent BLR webinar.

Does it have characteristic signs or symptoms? Yes.

With obesity, there is an increase in body fat, and there are symptoms associated with excess body fat like joint pain, immobility, sleep apnea, and low self-esteem.

Does it cause harm or morbidity? Yes.

Obesity is directly related to diabetes, heart disease, and many cancers. Even premature death can result.

Using this definition and these answers helps us clearly see why the AMA declared obesity as a disease.

“With these scientific details, there was a resolution in front of the American Medical Association on whether obesity should be declared a disease. The House of Delegates of the American Medical Association adopted policy recognizing obesity as a diseased state . . . with multiple pathophysiological aspects requiring a range of interventions.” Lazarus told us.

Obesity as a Disease: What Are the Implications?

With this change, obesity is now classified in the same way as diabetes, high blood pressure, or depression. This opens the door for new regulations, but they haven’t come yet. So, where do we go next? Here are some possibilities of what might occur:

• Increased training for medical students and physicians to treat obesity
• Increased research on the causes, prevention, and effective treatment of obesity
• Insurance reimbursement may become possible for obesity treatment
• Employer wellness programs can be changed to no longer be based on BMI or changes in BMI, but on more constructive measures
• Legal protection could eventually result, such as outlawing weight-based discrimination

“How about legal protection? You can’t fire somebody because they get diabetes, so I think it’s coming quick that you can’t fire somebody because they have a weight issue. I am very hopeful that in the near future it will become illegal to practice weight-based discrimination in the workforce.” Lazarus told us.

For more information on obesity and how it affects an employer’s obligations, order the webinar recording of “Obesity and the ADA: How to Insulate Your Organization from Potential Liability Following Recent AMA Classification.” To register for a future webinar, visit http://store.blr.com/events/webinars.

Ethan Lazarus, M.D., specializes in helping individuals with weight problems lose weight and live happier, healthier lives. He is board certified both by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and by the American Board of Family Medicine.