Tom Wright Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer | Children's Mercy Hospital K.C.
Tom Wright Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer | Children's Mercy Hospital K.C.
Is obesity among the most misunderstood, misclassified, and mistreated diseases of our time? In recent decades, researchers have discovered that a hormone called leptin plays an important role in regulating appetite and body weight. They also found that obesity is often genetically driven and influenced by biological factors, such as changes in the central nervous system pathways related to energy balance. The development of medications like glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists supports the view that obesity should be managed as a chronic disease through medical treatment and lifestyle adjustments.
Despite these scientific advances, obesity is still widely seen as merely a consequence of poor lifestyle choices, such as overeating and lack of exercise. This perception leads to questions about the future of obesity treatment, especially since it is not yet universally recognized as a chronic disease.
Angela Fitch, MD, a co-founder of KnownWell and former president of the Obesity Medicine Association, commented on this issue, stating, "We’ve been dealing with this for centuries — that obesity’s just about people controlling their behaviors and that treats or prevents the disease." She pointed out that only 5%-10% of individuals succeed in losing 20% of their body weight, emphasizing the gap between scientific knowledge and societal expectations.
Furthering this perspective, Sarah E. Hampl, MD, from the Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, said, “We really need to shift the narrative from being one of personal responsibility to what can be done in terms of solutions for these individuals in their health journey.” Dr. Hampl is also the lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Clinical Practice Guideline on obesity in children and adolescents.
The discussion continues on Medscape about how obesity should be classified and treated, as experts push for a broader recognition of its complexities and the need for more robust management strategies.
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