“Recognising obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this issue. It also elevates the importance of developing new approaches to prevent and manage obesity.

The AMA’s House of Delegates voted for this classification because we believe it will encourage parents and physicians to have candid conversations about their weight and other key health indicators like blood pressure and blood sugar.

Physicians previously had conversations with patients about treating obesity’s health complications, but this designation will help physicians to talk about obesity itself, as well as help them to decide on an appropriate course of action. While healthy eating and physical activity are important for preventing obesity, for some people this is not enough and medication or surgery is needed.

The excess body fat indicative of obesity doesn’t just take up space in the body – it’s metabolically active, producing hormones and other substances that may impair a number of normal body functions, including fertility and the regulation of appetite and metabolism. We’re hopeful this policy will emphasise the seriousness of obesity and its health implications. This classification may also encourage more investment to study and limit this disease.”

“Obesity needs to be medicalised in order to help the millions of people who live with excess weight and the illnesses related to it.

Obesity is viewed by governments, healthcare professionals, media and individuals as being caused by laziness and over-consumption: a stigmatising, over-simplification of a complex health problem. If obesity is viewed as a disease, we can perhaps create a world where health professionals are remunerated for providing treatment services, where people with obesity can seek medical assistance with confidence and where public and private funders will prioritise the provision of obesity prevention, treatment resources and related research.

In many countries, however, fitness and wellness professionals are not licensed or members of organisations that ensure service standards and competencies. Medical training and residency or internship programmes in the health system are generally not part of their training. So, while I support the importance of exercise in weight management, the current training, licensing, regulation and professional standards of wellness and fitness professionals is a long way off from that of other regulated health professionals.”

“Classifying obesity as a disease could lead to more resources and push it up the agenda for policy makers.

However, the cons far outweigh the pros. This decision arguably reflects a trend towards the medicalisation of life. It’s not a disease: many people diagnosed as obese are actually healthy.

Worryingly, this reclassification throws the weight of responsibility onto the medical sector, potentially taking it away from individuals, parents, educators – including physical educators – and social policy makers. It puts the emphasis on treatment, not prevention, inevitably leading to expensive medical interventions to tackle what is a societal problem.

Humans are programmed to eat as much as we can and to move as little as possible. With technology and highly calorific food, current lifestyles are the perfect storm for obesity. This is what needs addressing.

I doubt this reclassification will mean a boost for the wellness, spa and fitness sector. It could mean the opposite, with treatment – not prevention – becoming the emphasis and medicine taking de facto responsibility for that treatment. The sectors have to better evidence their effectiveness in obesity prevention and management to compete with medicine in this context.”

“Obesity should be classified as a disease – a condition to be treated and not simply dismissed by the medical profession as a problem for parents or individuals. Unrecognised, obesity may quickly trigger more serious conditions which are more costly to treat.

Should the UK follow the lead of the US and classify obesity as a disease, I would hope that more funds would be triggered for preventive measures, especially in primary care, which is currently woefully underfunded.

In my opinion, any further funding should not be directed into the wellness and fitness industry, which is a sophisticated business sector that can look after itself. The fitness industry, in particular, suggests to people that it will provide a quick fix to lose weight. Actually, all people need in order to exercise is a good pair of shoes to go walking. As for kids, they just need space to run around.

What’s more, exercise isn’t the only element that’s needed to stop the development of obesity – eating good, nutritious food is key too and even before that it’s about coaching people on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is particularly important very early on in life as it’s been found that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is crucial in preventing obesity later on.”