Obesity Under Control? Not Exactly

Obesity under control? Such claims are premature, said ConscienHealth founder Ted Kyle Friday in a presentation to the Connecticut Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Not ExactlyA steady stream of headlines claiming that initiatives against childhood obesity are working or that the total rate of obesity is leveling off, leaves the public with a false impression that policymakers have figured this out.

Pointing to research from Diana Thomas and colleagues, Kyle explained that obesity rates are leveling because we are running out of people who are susceptible to obesity — not because of any prevention strategies that are currently in play.

In fact, rates of severe obesity are growing in both adults and children, creating an ever-growing burden of chronic diseases that will be difficult to reverse. The costs and health burden of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and cancer are growing, fueled significantly by the growing severity of obesity.

Far from having obesity under control, Kyle said that our present understanding of this complex chronic disease is incomplete. Scientific reports point to more than 100 potential causes for obesity, suggesting that much more research is needed uncover the insights that will be necessary to genuinely control the disease.

Click here or on the slide above for a copy of Kyle’s presentation slides.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra

Desire of Control, photograph © Massimo Valiani / flickr

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