AMA votes to “recognise obesity as a disease”

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The American Medical Association (AMA) has voted in favour of recognizing obesity as a disease.

This vote follows the fact that the United States is facing what's known as an "obesity epidemic". A study released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in September last year found that adult obesity rates exceeded 30% in 12 states. The study projected that "if rates continue to increase at the current pace, adult obesity rates could exceed 60 percent in 13 states, and all states could have rates above 44 percent by 2030."

The AMA hopes its decision will encourage physicians and insurance companies to "recognize obesity as a complex disorder" and boost national efforts to educate the public "about the health risks of being overweight and obese."

Rising obesity levels is expected to increase healthcare costs in the US, because obesity is associated with a number of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.