For decades, obesity has been unfairly portrayed as a failure of discipline or motivation. Yet leading surgeons from the American College of Surgeons are reframing the narrative: obesity is not a lack of willpower—it’s a complex, treatable medical condition.
With nearly 40 percent of adults in the United States affected, and around 10 percent living with severe obesity, this is not a lifestyle issue but a national health crisis. Experts now emphasize that effective treatment must be individualized, often requiring a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and, in many cases, surgery.
According to metabolic and bariatric surgeons, traditional approaches based solely on diet and exercise help some people, but not all. For those with severe obesity, surgery or long-term pharmacological treatment—sometimes both—can be life-changing. Still, only about one percent of those who qualify for bariatric surgery ever receive it, due to barriers of cost, stigma, and lack of awareness.
Researchers explain that obesity is rooted in biological mechanisms involving hormones, genetics, and metabolism. It is a disease of regulation, not of character. The body of a person living with obesity resists weight loss by slowing metabolism and increasing hunger hormones—a survival mechanism gone awry in a modern world of abundant food and constant stress.
Understanding obesity as a disease removes blame and opens doors to real solutions. Just as no one blames a patient when cancer spreads, the same compassion and medical rigor should be applied here. Recognizing obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition allows for earlier intervention, personalized therapy, and better outcomes.
This shift in perspective is powerful. It replaces guilt with science and judgment with empathy. Obesity isn’t about weakness—it’s about biology. And once we understand that, treatment can begin in the right place: not in shame, but in care.
SOURCE: News Conference: Weight Loss Medications and Surgery — What You Need to Know
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