Yesterday, the American Medical Associated convened in Chicago and agreed to officially recognize obesity as a disease. The vote was held during the association's annual meeting, and the decision was motivated by the fact that obesity rates in the U.S. have "doubled among adults in the last twenty years and tripled among children in a single generation."
Furthermore, the move to officially recognize obesity as a disease was fueled by the fact that the Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization already consider it a disease. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted a study last year which learned that obesity rates for adults exceeded 30 percent in 12 states in 2011. The study projected that at this rate, the number could pass 44 percent for all states by 2030.
The cost of health care in America is already high, and increased obesity rates will only drive that number up as obesity is linked to cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer and type 2 diabetes. In addition to classifying obesity as a disease now, the AMA will also suggest ways to combat it.
RELATED: Four Pins - What an Average American Male Looks Like
[via New York Post]
