Despite the millions of people living with obesity, this disease often gets overlooked by healthcare providers and leaves patients without the proper medical care they deserve. Obesity is about more than just excess weight, it’s about long-term health. 

Factors that contribute to excess weight can include:

  • Environment
  • Genetics
  • Lifestyle
  • Certain medications
  • Health conditions or other complex factors

Weight plays a significant part in your overall health, so it's important to have regular conversations with your healthcare provider about weight, just as you would with other conditions.

Obesity is linked with at least 60 comorbidities. Just a few of these include:
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Sleep apnea
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome 

Losing weight can help improve some medical conditions associated with obesity.

Often, people with obesity are met with stigma, bias and lack of compassion. But with the right care, people with obesity can achieve weight loss that can help make a difference in their health.

Obesity is not a choice. While healthy eating and increased physical activity are important parts of managing weight, for many people with obesity, that may not be enough. In fact, according to one study, people with obesity generally make seven serious attempts to lose weight over time.

Why does the weight return? After weight loss, for people with obesity, the body fights to put the weight back on.

After weight loss by reducing calories, metabolism slows down, hunger increases, fullness decreases and the body keeps trying to regain the weight for at least one year.1,2

Understanding how the body manages weight has provided healthcare providers with information to provide long term support and individualized approaches to weight management. We know that it's not just about losing weight, it's about managing the disease of obesity for increased long-term health and keeping the weight off over time.3

Queen Latifah is helping take obesity head-on, and that starts by having an honest conversation about shame, bias and stigma. Sometimes, they’re not as visible as you’d think.

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Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, Delbridge E, et al. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(17):1597-1604.

Lam YY, Ravussin E. Analysis of energy metabolism in humans: a review of methodologies. Mol Metab. 2016;5(11): 1057-1071.

Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. JACC July 1, 2014; Vol 63(25):2985-3023.

Received May 15, 2013. Accessed December 8, 2015. American Medical Association House of Delegates. Recognition of obesity as a disease. Resolution 420 (A-13).  http://www.npr.org/documents/2013/jun/ama-resolution-obesity.pdf

Mechanick JI, Garber AJ, Handelsman Y, Garvey WT. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' Position Statement on Obesity and Obesity Medicine. Endocrine Practice. 2012;18:642-648.

Published 2013. Accessed August 5, 2015. McKinney L. Diagnosis and Management of Obesity. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/patient_care/fitness/obesity-diagnosis-mono.pdf

Allison DB, Downey M, Atkinson RL, et al. Obesity as a disease: a white paper on evidence and arguments commissioned by the Council of the Obesity Society. Obesity. 2008;16(6):1161-1177.