Obesity is NOT a Disease

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The leading cause of emphysema is due to the smoking of cigarettes, just as the leading cause of HIV/AIDS is due to unprotected sex. Obesity contributes to heart disease as well as several other diseases. Unprotected sex, smoking, and obesity are not the disease; they are the cause of disease. Many public forums such as the news, health professionals, educational articles, and pharmaceutical companies have referred to obesity as a disease. There is a growing debate in America about whether or not obesity is a disease and if it is appropriate to call it a disease. Obesity has not been officially classified as a disease but many feel it is necessary. Obesity should not be classified as a disease - it does not fit the fefinition. Obesity is caused by unhealthy habits and it can be prevented. Classifying obesity as a disease would strain the health care system which is already bankrupt.

Obesity has been accepted in the American society as a norm. According to the U.S. office of the Surgeon General, in 1999, 6 in 10 American adults were classified as obese or overweight (McMurray, par. 5). In order for one to be classified as obese they’re body mass index (BMI) must be 30 or greater. The number of obese in America has continued to increase. It has been estimated by The World Health Organization that 300 million people will be obese by 2025 (Bailey 3). Since obesity comes with many health risks, many feel it should be treated as a disease.

Proponents of classifying obesity as a disease claim that it fits the definition of a disease. The American Heritage Dictionary defines disease as “a pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmen...

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...unter, William. “Obesity: A Growing Epidemic.” How Genetics and Environment Shape Us.

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Kramer, Otis, and Nancy Sprague. “Discrimination Against Obese People is Primarily Directed

Against Women.” 2009. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Hanley Lib.,

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McMurray, Coleen. “Lifestyle, Not Disease, Causes Obesity.” 10 Aug. 2004

Points of View Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Hanley Lib., Bradford, PA 21 Nov 2010.

Rich, Alex and Rosalyn Carson. “Obesity and Health Insurance.” 2009.

Points of View Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Hanley Lib., Bradford, PA 21 Nov. 2010.

Tucker, Mary, and Nancy Sprague. “Bottled Water is the Healthy Alternative.” 2009.

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