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TOP 10 TAKEAWAY MESSAGES:
Obesity as a Disease
1. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing and treatable disease.
2. The signs, symptoms, and pathophysiology of obesity fulfill the
definition of a disease.
3. Obesity can be due to inherited (genetic, epigenetic) factors and/
or extragenetic/environmental factors.
4. Obesity may result in cellular and organ anatomic and functional
abnormalities.
5. Obesity may result in pathogenic adipocyte and/or adipose
tissue endocrine and immune dysfunctions that contribute to
metabolic disease (adiposopathy or "sick fat" disease).
6. Obesity may result in pathogenic physical forces from excessive
body fat, promoting stress damage to other body tissues ("fat
mass disease" [FMD]).
7. Many diseases are promoted by unhealthful behavior, and
obesity is no less of a disease when it is promoted by unhealthful
behavior.
8. Data from 2017–2020 estimate that approximately 41.9% of U.S.
adults have obesity; 19.3% of youths have obesity.
9. As with other diseases, obesity is best discussed using "people-
first" language.
10. Obesity is promoted by genetic predisposition and shares similar
pathophysiologies as aging.
