Is Obesity a Disease? Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. It is estimated that 250 million people in the United States are obese and numbers are expect to rise significantly by the year 2025. (NCBI) Despite these statistics the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not classify obesity as a disease. Obesity is in fact a disease and should be classified as so by the CDC, because it fits the definition of what we know to be a disease. Obesity is also a risk factor for other diseases and instances of obesity are increasing in all demographics throughout the nation. In this paper we will discuss these arguments for changing the classification of Obesity and disprove arguments that say that obesity is no more than lack of will power. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary a disease is defined as, “a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.” (MW) If we break down this definition, keywords and phrases such as: condition, impairs normal body function and signs and symptoms, stand out. All of these terms successfully describe obesity. Obesity is essentially a “condition characterized by excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body.”(MW) Storage of body fat is also recognized, in physiological terms, as excess adipose tissue in the body. Having too much adipose tissue in to body can have adverse effects on body function, especially within the endocrine system. The council for scientific affairs states, “excess adipose tissue can cause an overproduction of leptin and other mediators, which leads to abnormal regulation of food intake and energy expenditure.” (ama) In essence these are the “signs and symptoms” indicated in our definition of what a disease, and how they “impair body function”. Despite continuous deconstruction of what is a disease and its encompassing features. The CDC remains unchanged on it descision to classify obesity as a disease. Physicians and members of the medical field continue to stress the importance or maintaing a healthy weight and diet in order to prevent more serious diseases. The fact is that obesity is a important risk factor for other major diseases. According to the CDC heart disease, stroke and diabetes are 3 of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. (CDC) One quick search on the internet