Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Should obesity be treated as a disease?
Position2 of 3

Obesity is not a disease

This position holds that obesity is not a disease. It argues obesity can stem from outside forces such as injury or medication, or simply from overeating, and that having negative physical effects does not make something a disease—plenty of harmful conditions are not classed as illnesses.

Supporting arguments · 3

  1. Obesity is caused by overeating
    Obesity is most often caused by poor food choices. When a body burns less than the calories provided, people gain weight.
  2. Obesity can be caused by injury or medicine
    A disease is not something that can be caused by external factors.
  3. Many things have negative physical impacts that aren't diseases
    There are hundreds of causes of symptoms like obesity that aren't diseases. Obesity can be deadly without being a disease.