Yes, obesity is a disease
Re: “Obesity a disease,” June 19 news brief.
The American Medical Association has officially defined obesity as a disease. While pundits are making light of the classification, the fact remains that 30 percent of Americans are obese. In 2012, projections stated, “Adult obesity rates could exceed 60 percent in 13 states, and all states could have rates above 4 percent 4 percent by 2030.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, 365,000 deaths occur annually in the United States as a result of complications of obesity.
In 2012, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $190 billion per year. According to one study, cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more annually than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.
If we can get together as a country, we have a chance to check this epidemic, save hundreds of thousands of lives, and save billions of dollars.
Matthew A. Metz, M.D., Parker
This letter was published in the June 22 edition.