The United States became the second most obese nation. In 2013 The New York Times reported that 31.8 percent of Americans are obese, with only Mexico was higher with 32.8 percent. In a report from the Surgeon General from the same year, it is estimated that “300,000 deaths per year may be attributed to obesity” and that “…obesity was the third leading cause of death (in 2009) just after high blood pressure and smoking.”

The Center for Disease Control (the CDC) has even more compelling statistics. On the website, cdc.gov, it is stated that “more than one-third (34.9 % of 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese…and that Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.”

Even with all of these facts presented, in recent years a great debate has arisen, centered around this one important question: is obesity a disease?

“Obesity, like alcoholism, depression, and anxiety, is a disease,” states Dr. Tansneem Bhatia, from the prevention.com article “Is Obesity a Disease?”, “…there are definite medical patterns: hormone imbalances, neurotransmitter deficiencies and nutritional exhaustion that all contribute to obesity. Many of my patients that are obese have underlying medical issues that need to be addressed.”

In an article on the website procon.org, several reasons are listed to back the thought process that obesity is in fact a disease. They are:

1. Obesity, like other diseases, impairs the normal functioning of the body.
2. Obesity decreases a person’s life expectancy and can cause death, like other diseases.
3. Government entitities and major medical groups recognize obesity as a disease.
4. Obesity can be a genetic disorder such as sickle-cell anemia and Tay-Sachs, which are classified as diseases.
5. Physicians from as early as the 17th century have referenced obesity as a disease.

Yet not everyone is in agreement with these assessments. Writer Geoffrey Kabat, contributing writer for forbes.com and author of the article, “Why Labeling Obesity As A Disease Is A Big Mistake,” does not believe obesity is a disease and instead compares it to smoking. “Smoking, like obesity” writes Kabat, “is a personal behavior that waxed dramatically and then waned dramatically over the course of the 20^th century. Smoking causes a wide range of diseases from lung and other cancers to cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory diseases. Over the past century smoking is estimated to have caused 1.6 million deaths in the U.S. However, no one ever proposed labeling smoking a disease.”

Many others have the same opinion as well.

In an article from the Daily Mail website (dailymail.co.uk) entitled “Should Obesity Be Classified as a Disability or a Disease?” one reader, Rosaleen Emily Thomas, states that, “I am overweight and find the idea of obseity being a disease absolutely ridiculous…I need to lose weight…it’s self induced. I ate too much and got heavy.” Another reader, Nanette Holiday wrote, “’My daughter has Down’s syndrome and we cannot do anything to remove the extra chromosome…but if you are over weight you can stop eating as much and do exercise.”

So the debate rages on, with no real clear winner in sight. As our nation and nations around the world continue to struggle with obesity, as the experts continue to debate the fine line between medicine and lifestyle.