Reference no: EM133289909

Obesity is a multisystem disease that increases the risk of the most common non-communicable chronic diseases of the 21st century. The population is developing obesity at a younger age and it is likely that these individuals will suffer morbidity for longer. This will be challenging for clinicians because the symptom and disease burden from multi-organ impairment can become irreversible without timely intervention. Early identification of individuals with obesity through simple anthropometric measurements should be a priority for prompt interventions to prevent morbidity and the associated healthcare and economic costs.

Tackling obesity requires a whole systems approach. Governments and policy makers, rather than individuals, have the ability to change the food environment through regulation, taxation and restricting the availability of high-calorie processed foods to adults and children. Patients with obesity who face weight-based discrimination deserve policies and legislation that aim to prevent weight-based inequality. This will help change the current narrative that patients with obesity are to blame for their disease, which fuels a pervasive form of social stigma. Replacing this fallacy with scientific knowledge can prevent discrimination and facilitate referral to specialist weight management centers where a multidisciplinary team can provide bespoke patient care.