[The obesity medication] is altering your brain chemistry. However it’s not a everlasting alteration. It’s only an alteration through the duration that you just’re taking the medication. Then your brain chemistry goes back to what it was before. Because your brain chemistry is genetic. Your obesity is genetic. Should you get to 350 kilos, that’s genetic. Similar to your eye color is genetic.
Are there changes that could possibly be made on a political level to assist individuals with obesity live healthier lives?
Dr. W.:
Yes, endorsement and recognition that the world is biased, which is a negative word. They’re biased or prejudiced against people living with obesity and that the world is stuffed with stereotypes against people living with obesity, which is stigma. Should you were to google “obesity man images,” you’ll see guys wearing shirts which are too small for them as in the event that they’re not vivid enough to know that that doesn’t look good. Sure there’s one guy who will wear that, but nearly all of guys that live with obesity don’t do this because they’re vivid, competent people — lawyers and doctors and every little thing else.
We also must enact legislations that stop the discrimination against people living with obesity. You notice how lots of what I even have to say didn’t need to do with let’s tax sugary food. That’s putting more of the onus on the person, prefer it’s their fault. The problem is, we keep blaming the person with obesity, versus actually being compassionate, appropriate and understanding science. Living with obesity is just not a selection. It’s a genetic epigenetic phenomenon that’s a results of progress in society, like having cell phones, TVs, air-con. We’d like to know that, help people to know that and likewise help people living with obesity to live with a healthy, elevated weight, after which treat their elevated weight when appropriate.
What are you hoping obesity management looks like in five years?
Dr. W.:
More treatment decisions for people living with obesity in the event that they have obesity and more recognition that individuals with elevated weight may not have obesity. African-American women may have a BMI of over 32 before they begin to run into blood sugar problems because they carry their weight on their hips and their thighs, not of their stomachs. Yet they’re demonized once they should just be called beautiful. They shouldn’t be called a lady with obesity or an obese lady. In the event that they have Type 2 diabetes or they’ve heart disease, then they’re living with obesity and treatment needs to be available for them. Should you’re South Asian and your BMI is 26, which might not be defined as obesity and barely defined as obese. ut should you’re South Asian with a BMI of 26 and you may have pre-diabetes, your mom has Type 2 diabetes, your auntie has it, they usually all developed it at age 26 and also you’re age 25, you’ve got obesity.