Obesity Inc.: How Rising Obesity Has Turned Into a Billion Dollar Industry

“Obesity is on the rise.”

“Fatness is a sickness.”

“Our nation is battling an epidemic of obesity.”

We’ve all heard variations of these statements, but have you ever wondered who’s saying them?

It might be hard to believe, but there once was a time when a voluptuous body was admired, even desired by society.

So when did fat become a problem?

It wasn’t until 1942 that the real fat crisis surfaced. It all started when Metropolitan Life Insurance looked at almost 5 million policies in North America to come up with a handy height and weight chart.

It was the first time that anyone could compare themselves to what would be seen as a “normal” or “healthy” weight.

How doctors took advantage of the obesity scare

Many doctors and mainstream associations like the National Obesity Society held conferences where they could propagate the idea that only highly trained experts should deal with the treatment of weight-loss.

Nita Mary McKinley of the University of Washington states that medical experts believed “any level of thinness was healthier than being fat.”

Instead of promoting healthier lifestyles, doctors were inspired to create new treatments to obesity, such as jaw wiring, a procedure that stopped working as soon as patients started eating again.

Obesity: Disease or Risk Factor?

In 2013, Resolution 420 would be discussed at the American Medical Association’s annual meeting. Medical professionals wanted one thing: for obesity to be recognized as a disease. Not just a risk factor to serious diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

But the Committee on Science and Public Health believed obesity should not become an official disease.

Their reasons include:

1. Obesity has no symptoms

Therefore, it does not fit the national definition of a disease. Obesity is also not always harmful, as a disease is.

2. Our body is doing its job

A disease occurs when our bodies no longer function as normal. But storing calories as fat is normal function, and many experts believe that an obese body is actually just being more efficient than a naturally lean body.

3. It could hurt patients

Labelling obesity as a disease could create more stigmas around weight-gain and push people into useless treatments.

The AMA didn’t take the advice, however, and passed Resolution 420.

Here’s where the money comes in.

If Medicare wants to imagine obesity as a disease as the AMA do, doctors would be able to charge more per visit if they even mention weight to patients.

The bigger issue though is what’s already happening with the financial conflicts of interests in the industry. Most, if not all, obesity researchers make a profit, whether it’s from Big Pharma, medical-device manufacturers, or weight-loss programs.

In other words, they’re research is being swayed to promote industry profit for a cut.

In 1977, nine medical experts changed the BMI cutoff for overweight from 27 to 25. The panel defended their change saying 25 was an easier cutoff to remember than 27.

But that left millions of people to become “overweight” overnight. And that was millions more who are now eligible for costly treatment.