They Say I Have a Disease

The first thing you should know: I am currently listening to the "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"(Taylor Swift) pandora station because the angry music feels right.

The second thing you should know: I let the water pot boil over and the bean patties burn in the oven.

The third thing you should know: The reason for this upset is that the American Medical Association has declared obesity an official, diagnosable disease.

What comes up for "Angry Face" on google.
Also the only joke I will likely make in this post.

Now, I am more forcefully opinionated on this issue than I usually care to be, but I have decided to let it out on here in the hope that some constructive conversation will come of it. (Though if you entirely disagree with everything I say, maybe give me a couple of days to cool off before letting me know.)  Also, I may resort to dark and twisty colors for the highlights in this post to go with my mood.

I started my exploration of this breaking news on ABCnews, and while I'm sure other stations have things to say, too, I don't need to look any further.  Here is one news video and article for you: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/american-medical-association-classifies-obesity-disease/story?id=19439304.

Obesity has been considered an epidemic for a couple of decades now.  Only since yesterday has it been classified as a disease.  To be honest, I'm incredibly nervous to try and explain why this is a major problem, because I've developed a vocabulary over these issues over the course of four years and I am afraid I won't do the explanations justice.

Nevertheless...here we go. I will try to do this in some sort of logical sequence:

An easy calculator that you can find online -
no consultation needed.

Obesity is determined by BMI - a measurement calculated using just a person's height and weight, with absolutely no consideration to body build, gender, ethnicity, fat versus muscle content, or any other factors for that matter.  See Beauty Redefined's article on BMI to read about how it originated as a way to increase life insurance for overweight people and how (drumroll) "On June 16, 1998, the “average” woman was 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed 155 pounds. On June 17, a woman of that same height and weight became “overweight.” The requirement for “average” dropped 10 pounds to 145, and a person of the same height who weighed 175 pounds was considered “obese.”

The word obesity has incredibly negative associations with it even though it is calculated by this ridiculously imprecise formula.  And now obesity will mean "diseased," too.

The main issues that I take with this are: 1. the negative body image implications, and 2. the ignorance around the real issues: our food industry, dieting industry, beauty industry, and all of the modern causes of sedentariness and stress (which is material for an entirely separate blogpost, I think)!

Let's start with issue 2.  Obesity - rather, I'll use the term unhealthy weight gain, since that is what obesity is supposed to mean -  does not exist in a void.  First of all, "obesity" can be a natural part of someone's body composition (and yes, there are many "obese" people who have no health issues); but unhealthy weight gain is the result of so. many. different. things that are part of our USA environment.  And most of it works together, unfortunately.  One example of the cycle is the following: The beauty industry tells us we need to lose weight to be liked, we go on low calorie diets that permanently slow our metabolisms down, we can't maintain the low calories because we are nutritionally deprived, and then when we start eating normally again, our slower metabolism makes our body store fat more easily, making us gain more weight back every time we take the beauty industry's advice to cut out breakfast or drink smoothies for lunch.  Rinse and repeat.

As for issue #1, let me lay out the following calculation: A person (note, either male or female) who is 5'6" needs to weigh between 115 and 155 to be a "healthy weight," while a person my height has to weigh (5'2") between 105 at 135.  That's a mere 30 lb flexibility, and cannot possibly be true for all people.  And yet anyone who is an outlier to these numbers will either be considered unhealthily skinny or unhealthily bulky.  How can we be expected to treat our bodies with love and have the compassion to get and keep them healthy if we are constantly told that they are inadequate in one way or another?

Atlanta's Body Shaming Obesity Campaign

I want to bring this defense of the classifying of obesity:

“The AMA’s decision essentially makes diagnosis and treatment of obesity a physician’s professional obligation. As such, it should encourage primary care physicians to get over their discomfort about raising weight concerns with obese patients. Studies have found that more than half of obese patients have never been told by a medical professional they need to lose weight — a result not only of some doctors’ reluctance to offend but of their unwillingness to open a lengthy consultation for which they might not be reimbursed.” (LA Times)

I propose that no overweight person in this country needs a doctor to tell them to lose weight, when it is all we hear, all of the time, all around us.  And does this statement take into account those "obese" people who haven't been told to lose weight because they are healthy?

Lastly, I want to mention a grave side effect (pun intended) of this new classification of obesity as disease.  Last July (2012), the FDA approved Qsymia, a weight loss drug that was found to help obese people lose 10% of their weight. That is one tenth of themselves.  Through a drug. Serious side effects include birth defects, increased heart rate, suicidal thoughts, loss of vision.  Common side effects include numbness or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or face (paraesthesia); dizziness; changes in the way foods taste or loss of taste (dysgeusia); trouble sleeping (insomnia); constipation; and dry mouth. It is not known if Qsymia changes your risk of heart problems or stroke or of death due to heart problems or stroke, if Qsymia is safe and effective when taken with other prescription, over-the-counter, or herbal weight loss products and if Qsymia is safe and effective in children under 18 years old.

Through my class this past semester on mental health and illness, I have become all too enlightened on the role of pharmaceutical companies on what we consider illness and disease.  Drug companies need diseases to cure in order to sell their products.  How many physicians are going to be compelled to prescribe Qsymia and the dozens of new products that are bound to come out for their patients without holistically viewing all of the influences on that individual's lifestyle and weight gain?  Will someone try to prescribe it to me because I am technically obese?

I would keep talking, I really would.  But I want to maintain the chances of you actually reading to the bottom of this post.  I hope I explained some of these issues adequately.  As always, feel free to comment with questions or ideas.

With angst, frustration, and a sigh of release,

Gabriella