Opening Statement: Obesity

Obesity has known to be a big problem in our society. Many people assume that obesity is a genetic or a common disease towards their health. In other words, in the dictionary, disease means, a disorder or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting the effect of genetic of developmental errors. Obesity is not a function that normal or abnormally grows or develops in your body, it is something from the outside world that is digested or injected in to a person that can make a person over weight. For example, a women on The Biggest Loser, started at a weight of: 234 pounds and loss almost: 122 pounds- that is forty- eight percent of her weight.This signifies, obesity can be be curable without additional injected enzymes, but to cure a disease you need the specific injections or medicine; without medicine most people might die or have to frequently check with the doctor. Have people ever thought about that some people might be bigger boned which take up most of their weight that makes them look fat but really are not?. Well this does not mean that they are not healthy, it is just a trait that they have that make their body look more “fatter”, but maybe healthier than a skinnier person.

Additionally, “studies have shown that the heritability of obesity is about the same as the height. Therefore; obesity is not the result of people lacking willpower to exercise or eat less, but genetically predetermined.” This is not true. “Obesity is a matter of a personal responsibility. People become obese because they make bad dietary decisions and do not exercise.” Thinking that obesity is a disease make the people believe it is not their fault that they gained a certain amount of weight- they assume it is a disease, so they will not try to  help or attempt to control themselves. It gives people an excuse to eat  as much as they want.

In the health care bill H.R. 3962, approved by the House of Representatives on Oct. 29, 2009, "being overweight or obese" is not classified as a disease but as a "behavioral risk factor" along with alcohol and drug use, tobacco, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and risky sex.  This shows as more and more people understand the concept between a disease and a behavioral control, it makes people notice that it is their fault for what they have done to themselves and have to take control and improve on their dietary decisions.

As a result, from the evidence we have gathered, people maybe agree that obesity is a disease because it leads to other risk factors such as diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases. On the contrary, it is exactly called a disease because not everyone that is obese has medical problems. People that are obese or fat can also be very healthy. Does this also mean that obesity is a disease  if when we are eating, we get all the nutrients that we need to improve our health? is that bad? . Being obese is a matter of life decisions that we make. We can control if we choose to be obese or not, but a disease happens unexpectedly without knowing that we cannot take control of, therefore we have proposed that obesity is not a disease.