Obesity is a complex health issue in which weight gain has reached the point where it poses significant health risks. It is now a worldwide public health problem, affecting all ages and socio-economic groups. According to WHO estimates over 4 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Obesity is closely related to several other chronic diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, certain cancers, joint diseases, and more.
Professional organization like the American Medical Association and World Health Organization considers obesity as a disease. This makes obesity more than just a lifestyle disorder. It results from a combination of causes and individual factors such as behaviour and genetics. Behaviours can include physical inactivity, dietary patterns, medication use, and other exposures. Obesity occurs due to increased accumulation of fat which cannot always be attributed to eating too many calories or lacking physical activity. Individuals with obesity can have abnormalities in metabolic pathways, disordered signalling for hunger, satiety (the feeling of fullness), and fullness. So, obesity is not just the consumption of excess food, it is much more.
Considering obesity as a disease will help physicians and patients take it more seriously. Therefore, management of obesity requires a multifaceted approach targeting changes in lifestyle, nutrition, mental health, and environment. Just like we would approach a doctor to treat blood pressure or diabetes with lifestyle or medicines, obesity should also be treated by an endocrinologist with lifestyle changes, nutrition, and medicines.