Obesity is not just a cosmetic consideration; it has been classified as a chronic disease since 1985 and is currently the most common disease in the United States. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute define obesity as a complex, multifactor disease that develops from the interaction between genetics and the environment.
Clinically severe obesity is the medical term used to describe the accumulation of fatty tissue on the body, which is excessive and interferes with, or injures, other bodily organs causing a number of health problems. Obesity plays a significant role in causing poor health, a negative impact on the quality of life and shortening the quantity of life.
Medical experts and the federal government recognize obesity as a chronic, incurable disease. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, overtaking cigarettes and alcohol. According to the American Obesity Association, obesity is responsible for approximately 300,000 to 587,000 deaths each year and millions more suffer, due to obesity-related co-morbidities.
Obesity is a risk factor or aggravating agent for approximately 30 diseases and/or conditions. It affects multiple organs such as the heart, lung, vascular, skin, gastrointestinal, genitourinary system, musculoskeletal, and psychiatric. Additional health problems include, but are not limited to, hypertension, cardiac disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders, arthritis or weight-bearing joints, gallbladder disease, gastro-esophageal reflux, stress urinary incontinence, infertility and hormonal imbalances, skin disorders, and some types of cancer.
Depression, low self-esteem, societal rejection and prejudice, lesser work and income opportunities, marital, familial, social and sexual problems add to the burden of the morbidly obese. The economic cost of obesity is approximately $117 billion annually in the United States for the treatment of these obesity-related diseases. An almost equal amount is spent yearly on diets and low-calorie foods and drinks, exercise programs and other weight loss treatments which, even if successful, offer only temporary relief.
As documented by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, morbid obesity, also known as clinically severe obesity, is a major public health risk throughout the developed world. Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. Obesity in children and adolescents continue to increase. The National Center for Health Statistics reports the following:
- Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. (1999-2000)
- Twenty-three percent of U.S. adults are obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30.0) (1999-2000)
- 15 percent of adolescents (ages 12-19) are overweight. (1999-2000)
- 15 percent of children (ages 6-11) are overweight. (1999-2000)