The disease of obesity and the need for bariatric physicians

Obesity is probably unique amongst grave medical diseases that it fights with “cosmetic” disorders for attention of public, patients, policy makers, and medical fraternity. Though it is now officially recognized by American Medical Association as a disease, perceptions on the ground remain unchanged and many other national societies are lagging behind. At a time, when world is going through an obesity pandemic, patients suffering with this disease are not recognized as such, do not have a dedicated group of medical specialists looking after them, and find it difficult to get funding for their treatment from both public sector as well as the insurance mechanisms. The response of professional and patient groups, insurance companies, and governments can at best be described as patchy so far. This article makes a case for obesity to be formally recognized in India as a disease and the need for healthcare practitioners in India to develop the specialty of bariatric physicians to look after patients with this disease.