Ian Patton, director of advocacy and public engagement at Obesity Canada, at his home in Bowmanville, Ontario, July 31, 2020.Obesity is not defined by one’s weight or size, but by whether a person’s body fat impairs their health, according to new clinical guidelines for managing the condition.
Traditionally, doctors and other health experts have regarded obesity as a risk factor for other health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea. While this still holds true, in recent years, a growing number experts have also come to recognize that obesity itself is a chronic disease, one that is caused by myriad genetic, metabolic, behavioural and environmental factors, Dr. Sharma explained.
Doctors should still measure patients’ weight, height, waist circumference and BMI as part of routine physical exams, they said, but noted physicians should dig deeper to identify the root causes of weight gain. They recommended taking additional measurements, such as blood pressure, fasting glucose and a lipid panel, as well as other exams and tests, depending on the doctors’ clinical judgment.
“There’s this idea that if you’re using medication or using surgery, then you’re somehow cheating,” he said. Despite excelling in sports, he was bullied for his size while growing up. Obesity did not become a health issue for him until he approached his 30s and struggled with hypertension and severe sleep apnea. He lacked energy, had constant pain and was always out of breath.
Mehran Anvari, a professor of surgery at McMaster University in Hamilton and chair of the Ontario Bariatric Network, who was not one of the authors, said guidelines such as this are needed, since obesity remains poorly understood and poorly treated in Canada. Access to bariatric programs varies across the country, he said, noting he hoped to see more medical, surgical and dietary services for obesity in areas where patients are inadequately served.
To hear about these guidelines from the perspectives of the authors and patients who were involved in creating them, check out CMAJ’s podcast!
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Obesity is in our artificial food that is full of chemicals. It’s not natural as it used to be. So much junk is added to everything. Tomatoes are like plastic, fruits are horrible, etc. Yeah!
Sure, it has nothing to do with eating more calories than you use. People didn't use to be obese (look at photos from the 1940s & 1950s).
Obesity is cause by eating too much sugar
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