Adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, while adolescent obesity has quadrupled. The World Health Organization revealed that around 2.5 billion adults were overweight globally in 2022. 890 million of them were considered obese. Obesity is considered a disease. And in America, around 40% of adults are living with it.
One of them shared how they suffer from chronic depression, and sometimes turn to food for comfort. When a group of mean teenage boys recently laughed at them for buying a bunch of sweets at the supermarket, the overweight shopper refused to take it lightly. They clapped back with a clever comment that gave the kids food for thought, and left them more than a little shocked. Hopefully, it's also taught them a lesson in why it's better to be kind than cruel.
Some teenagers have the tendency to be nasty and think little of the impact of their words or actions
Image credits: monkeybusiness / envato (not the actual photo)
When an overweight shopper was taunted by a bunch of mean teens, they decided to teach the boys a lesson
Image credits: Denny Müller / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: AikarieCookie
"Obesity is a disease, not a behavioral choice": an expert explains
Body Mass Index or BMI is a measure of someone's body fat based on their height and weight. Your BMI tells you whether you are at what's considered a healthy weight or not. To calculate it, you take your weight in kilograms, divide it by your height in meters squared, and round it off to one decimal place.
You'll fall into one of five categories. Anything under 18.5 is underweight, while normal weight is 18.5–24.9. If your BMI is 25–29.9, you're considered overweight. And if it's above 30, you fall into the obesity category. A BMI of 40 or more means you have severe obesity.
The World Health Organization notes that obesity is "a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can impair health." The organization adds that obesity can cause a range of other health issues like increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, decreased bone health and reproduction.
Obesity also affects the daily lives of those living with it. Sleeping, and even moving around, can become a burden. But experts say people don't just wake up one day and decide to be overweight or have obesity.
Dr. Ania Jastreboff from Yale has been studying obesity extensively, and is an international leader in the field. She says obesity is a disease, and not a behavioral choice.
Jastreboff believes people with obesity have not been treated properly in the past. "If a patient has diabetes or hypertension, we provide them with treatment options, including medications, and recommend lifestyle changes," said the expert. "But for individuals with obesity, for years we’ve been saying to eat less and exercise more, without giving patients the tools to target the pathophysiology of their disease."
She adds that doctors need to treat patients with obesity the same way they treat patients with any other chronic disease. "We need to provide patients with options and treatment tools that target the biology of obesity while serving as guides on their health journey."
The expert is optimistic that times are changing when it comes to obesity treatments. "Many developments are underway, including medications that can decrease fat mass while preserving or maybe even increasing lean mass," said Jastreboff. "By treating one disease, obesity, we can treat or prevent 200 others, and, in so doing, transform the health and lives of our patients."
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