Is Obesity a "Disease"? "No," Says Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity Journal

12 Mar 2014 --- The American Medical Association recently declared that obesity is a disease, but people can be obese without being sick or diseased, objects David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center in the Editorial "Are Our Children 'Diseased'?" published in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Childhood Obesity website.

Calling obesity a disease gives it legitimacy, and it should now get more much-needed attention in the medical community, including reimbursement for weight management care, says Dr. Katz, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity.. However, he is concerned about the implications and societal bias of viewing children with overweight and obesity as having a disease.

"We treat diseases preferentially with drugs and procedures. We treat them in hospitals and clinics and generally at high cost," says Dr. Katz. Too often remedies for obesity in adolescents and children focus on medication or bariatric surgery, for example, instead of environmental and preventive strategies. "Clinics can and should treat complications of obesity, but the root causes reside in our culture, and the best remedies need to be directed there. An excessively medical conception of the problem may divert attention and resources away from where they are most needed, and could do the most good."

Dr. Katz is the author (with Stacey Colino) of the new book "Disease-Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well."

Reference: Katz, David L. Childhood Obesity. February 2014, 10(1): 1-3. doi:10.1089/chi.2014.1012. Published in Volume: 10 Issue 1: February 7, 2014