Is Obesity a Disease? Centuries of Medical History Seem to Say so

Modern science and nutrition has a lot to say about obesity. It seems that in recent years obesity has been classified as a disease and  linked to other issues such as diabetes and heart disease. But the truth isn’t that these are recent findings. Shockingly, many throughout history have made some of the same claims that modern medicine and nutrition are making today.

Corpulence, as the condition of obesity was referred to in the times of Hippocrates, around 400 B.C., was already a subject of study for the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, the classical physician widely recognized as the father of modern medicine, stated that “Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the harbinger of others“.  But even he wasn’t the first to study the phenomenon.

Sushruta, was another ancient physician, living some 200 years before Hippocrates. Sushruta’s writing about medical and surgical techniques and practices laid the foundation for Indian medicine. And he’s the first person on record to relate obesity to other health issues such as diabetes and heart disease. He was also the first person on record to recommend exercise to combat the disease.

It wasn’t until the 17th century that obesity would be referred to in English as a “disease” however. Tobias Venner, a physician and medical writer, is the first person in the English language to refer to obesity as a disease.  And although it took centuries to reach that point in medical history, popular consensus on the issue still isn’t forthcoming. These days you might see headlines that call for obesity to be labeled as a disease as if this were a new idea. And still, many healthcare professionals and member of the public prefer to refer to it as a condition. The distinction might seem arbitrary and unimportant, but it could have some impact on how the disease should be viewed, managed, and treated, as well as opening up additional lines of inquiry such as the extent of genetic predisposition. Food for thought!