What is obesity? We all know it when we see it but do we know what causes it? Many people think that obesity is down to laziness and greed. Obesity is, however, more serious than someone carrying a few extra pounds. It is a medical, life limiting condition and people who suffer from it deserve help and support. Obesity is an issue for one in three Americans and the AMA took the decision in order to impact on the way doctors and other medical professionals approach those suffering from the disease. Many other health issues (Type II Diabetes and Heart Disease) are linked to or made worse by obesity so treating and preventing obesity should have a positive effect on instances of many other conditions. In Sweden it has been accepted that obesity is increasingly prevalent, particularly amongst young people and as such policy makers need to look at targeting the problem and its associated social, personal and economic costs. The American Medical Association (AMA) took the decision, on June 18, 2013, to classify obesity as a disease. This was a controversial decision that is still being debated today. The debate gives rise to strong feelings on both sides. Here are our 10 reasons why obesity is a disease.
大家都很清楚什么是肥胖，但是对于产生肥胖的原因，却鲜有人了解。很多人把肥胖的原因归结于懒惰、贪婪。事实上，肥胖远不是身上多长了几磅肉那么简单。严格说来，肥胖是一种医疗疾病，肥胖者的日常生活非常因肥胖变得很不方便，他们应该得到大家的帮助与支持。每三个美国人当中就会有一个患有肥胖症，美国医疗学会（AMA）决定要协助医生以及其他医疗工作人员帮助肥胖症患者脱离这种疾病的困扰。肥胖会引发许多其他健康问题，还会使病情恶化（如：2型糖尿病和心脏病），因此在身体患有其他健康问题的情况下预防和治疗肥胖百利而无一害。在瑞典，肥胖症非常普遍，尤其是在青年人中，因此，政府需要着手寻找解决问题的方法，并查明其会牵涉到的社会、个人、以及经济上的代价。2013年6月18日，美国医疗学会将肥胖症列入疾病范畴。一直以来，社会各界对该决定争论不休，引起正反两方强烈反响。以下即为肥胖属于疾病范畴的10个原因。

10.Obesity Has Always Been Treated As a Disease
10.肥胖始终被社会各界视为一种病

As far back as the Ancient Greeks Hippocrates defined obesity as a disease noting that it could case impotence and sexual problems. Plutarch exhorted people to avoid indulging in delicacies and Galen invented the 'fat camp' when he 'reduced a huge fat fellow to moderates size…by making him run every morning until he fell into a profuse sweat'.
早在古希腊时期，希波克拉底就已把肥胖列入疾病范畴，且发现其会造成性无能等问题。希腊的历史学家普鲁塔克告诫人们不要纵情于美味佳肴。希腊名医伽林也成立了一个“减肥营”，通过让那些过度肥胖的人每天晨跑至汗流浃背来使他们“从大胖子转变为体格正常之人”。
By the 17th Century English Doctors were calling obesity a disease. They thought it was caused by a malfunction of the internal organs. Obesity has always been identified as a problem; however, historically it has been a problem that is the preserve of the rich. As Oliver Twist says in the song 'Rich gentlemen have it boys…indigestion!' Today many parts of the world are, by historic standards, incredibly rich and have a food security that is unparalleled. With this improved food security come related food problems.
到了17世纪，英国医生把肥胖症归为一种疾病。他们认为肥胖是由人体内部器官功能“失灵”引起。肥胖一直以来都被视为一种病，但人们一直都认为它是富人专属。就如《雾都孤儿》里的一句歌谣所云：“有钱的老爷都是吃到消化不良呀……” 跟以前相比，现今有钱人太多了，而且食品安全问题也比以前好太多。然而在这种情况下，还是会有饮食问题——肥胖饮食。

9.Doctors Say It Is
9.医生认为肥胖属于疾病

Doctors are experts in disease and how to cure it. If they say something is a disease we should listen to them! The AMA decided it was a disease in 2013 and the FDA, American College of Gastroenterology and the American Heart Association, amongst others, all agree. Nor is the US the only country where doctors make this claim. In Malaysia Dr Tee E Siong o the Nutrition Society of Malaysia and Professor Dr Mohd Ismail Noor of the Malaysian Society for the Study of Obesity say it should be referred to as a disease 'so that the public can be more aware of the dangers of the condition'. Obesity Australia is also campaigning for formal recognition of obesity as a disease to 'remove stigma and reduce obesity rates.'
医生是研究疾病并找寻治疗方法的人。所以医生说某一种症状应列入疾病范畴时，我们就应该相信！美国医疗学会于2003年把肥胖列入疾病范畴，对此，美国食品及药物管理局、美国肠胃病学院、美国心脏病协会等组织都十分支持这一举措。美国不是唯一一个赞同把肥胖列为疾病的国家。马来西亚营养协会的Tee E. Siong博士和马来西亚肥胖研究所的Mohd Ismail Noor教授都认为，将肥胖与疾病联系起来，公众会更容易意识到肥胖的威胁性。澳大利亚肥胖协会也正在努力争取把肥胖症归为正式的疾病，以达到“减少耻辱和降低肥胖率”的目的。

8.The World Health Organisation Says It Is
8.世界卫生组织说肥胖是病

Obesity was already formally classified as a disease by The World Health Organisation when it was founded (back in 1948). Obesity was, however, ignored for a long time as it was seen to be a problem of the developed world. By 1988 the World Health Organisation Obesity Report showed that obesity was becoming a worldwide problem. WHO's factsheet 'Obesity and Overweight' gives advice to individuals, society and food manufacturers on how to combat obesity and other related 'noncommunicable' diseases.
肥胖在1948年的时候就被世界卫生组织列为一种疾病。然而，在相当长的时间里，肥胖一直为人所忽视，它被认为是发达国家才有的问题。直到1988年，世界卫生组织肥胖报告表明，肥胖正成为全球性问题。世界卫生组织的“肥胖与超重”实况报告在关于如何对抗肥胖症和别的相关“非传染性疾病方面给个人、社会和食品制造商列出了许多建议。”

7.Obesity Can Be Inherited
7.肥胖可以遗传

No matter how healthy a lifestyle, how well people eat, some people are simply predisposed to be obese. People who suffer from conditions such as Prader-Willi Syndrome or a congenital condition such as hyperthyroidism are likely to be obese – sometimes from a young age.
不论人们生活方式多么健康，饮食多么合理，有些人就是容易胖。患有威利综合症或者先天性疾病的人群，例如，甲状腺机能亢进症患者，更倾向于患有肥胖，有时甚至年纪轻轻就会很肥胖。
Even if you do not have markers for any particular syndrome it is possible to be predisposed to obesity. If both your parents are obese you have an 80% chance of being obese yourself. There are more than 41 genes that predispose people to obesity. Why is this? There are survival benefits to obesity – if you can store up energy in the good times you are more likely to survive a period of famine. This so called 'thrifty gene' was a great benefit in century's past. A modern day 'paleo' diet may be all very well but it is not the answer for everyone. Even in prehistoric times there were some people who were predisposed to be obese. Many of the 'Venus' figurines recovered from the time show women with large breasts, stomachs and buttocks. These figurines may demonstrate the 'desired optimum' i.e. large is beautiful but even if that is the case the optimum had to exist for the artists to be aware of it. Put simply some cave men were obese and that genetic predisposition has been passed on to their descendants – us!
即使你没有任何特殊症状，你也还是有可能患上肥胖症。如果你的父母都肥胖，那么你有80%的几率患有肥胖症。因为人体本身就有超过41种使人们更倾向于肥胖的基因。怎么会这样？因为肥胖有生存益处——如果平时储存足够能量，就可以在饥荒期间生存下来。这个所谓的“节俭基因”在过去可是非常有益的。现在我们提及的“原始饮食”也许非常好，但不适合所有人。即使在古代，也是有人更易于肥胖的。许多存留下来的“维纳斯时期”女人雕像的特征都是丰乳肥臀。这些雕像展示的也许就是当时的“完美标准”， 例如，“大”即是美。但“最美”的东西也得有懂得欣赏的艺术家。简单来说，一些洞穴人是肥胖的，他们的这种基因特性也遗传给了他们的后代——我们！

6.Obesity Has an Impact on Life Expectancy
6.肥胖影响寿命

If someone who is not obese suffers from a condition that reduces their life expectancy most people would be comfortable labelling that condition a disease or illness. Lung Cancer is a disease whether or not the person who has it was a smoker. Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease whether or not the sufferer is a drinker. WHO states that 3.4 million adults die from obesity each year. Shockingly 65% of the world's population now live in countries where obesity is more of a health risk than being underweight. The sad fact is that obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide by as much as 10 years in the most extreme cases. If any other condition had this type of major impact there would be no debate about whether or not it should be classified as a disease – indeed there would be an outcry if it was not.
无论一个人是否肥胖，只要他因此而寿命缩短，人们自然就会将它标志为“疾病”。不管患者是不是烟民，肺癌都是一种疾病；不管患者是不是酒鬼，肝硬化都是一种疾病。世界卫生组织指出，每年都有340万成年人死于肥胖。让人震惊的是，现在世界有65%的人口都居住在把“肥胖”列为“危害健康”行列的国家，在这些国家肥胖造成的伤害比饮养不良还要大。更令人沮丧的是，在10年中最严重的情况下，肥胖是全球可预防性死亡的诱因之一。如果有什么能和肥胖一样产生如此大的影响，则没有人会反对把它列为“疾病”，否则贸然将肥胖列为疾病必然会引起公愤。

审校：哈利 来源：前十网