What is morbid obesity or clinically severe obesity?

Obesity becomes “morbid” when it reaches the point of significantly increasing the risk of one or more obesity-related health conditions or serious diseases (also known as co-morbidities) that result either in significant physical disability or even death.  Morbid obesity and clinically severe obesity are both descriptions of the same condition and can be used interchangeably.  Morbid obesity is typically defined as being 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight or having a Body Mass Index of 40 or higher.  According to the National Institutes of Health Consensus Report, morbid obesity is a serious disease and must be treated as such.  It is a chronic disease, meaning that its symptoms build slowly over an extended period of time.

What causes morbid obesity?

The reasons for obesity are multiple and complex.  Despite conventional wisdom, it is not simply a result of overeating.  Research has shown that, in many cases, a significant underlying cause of morbid obesity is genetic.  Studies have demonstrated that once the problem is established, efforts such as dieting and exercise programs have a limited ability to provide effective long-term relief.

Science continues to search for answers.  But until the disease is better understood, the control of excess weight is something patients must work at for their entire lives.  That is why it is very important to understand that all current medical interventions, including weight-loss surgery, should not be considered medical cures.  Rather, they are attempts to reduce the effects of excessive weight and alleviate the serious physical, emotional and social consequences of the disease.

Morbid obesity: A disease process.

Morbid Obesity is a disease process that is connected with increased morbidity and mortality over which the obese person has no control.  Associated co-morbid conditions include but are not limited to:  hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cholelithiasis, obstructive sleep apnea, hypoventilation, degenerative arthritis, and psychosocial impairments.  Other risk factors include urinary stress incontinence, increased breast and uterine cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease, infertility, and varicose veins.

Another issue of concern is lack of respect and discrimination.  Widespread negative attitudes include prejudice documented by numerous studies indicating stigmatization in most areas of social functioning that may promote psychosocial distress.