Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) presents “Ask an Expert”, a series where team members from our Bariatric Centre of Excellence answer questions they commonly encounter. For more information on our Regional Bariatric Care Centre, please visit bit.ly/TBRHSC-RBCC. This month’s question is answered by Rae-Anne Robinson, Social Worker, Regional Bariatric Care Centre at TBRHSC.
What is obesity?
Obesity is a complex, chronic disease where abnormal or excess fat accumulates in the body and impairs health and wellbeing. Due to weight bias in society, obesity is not always recognized as a disease—it is sometimes viewed as a personal failure of the person living with obesity. This perspective does not take into consideration the complex factors that contribute to obesity, many of which are beyond an individual’s direct control. Genetics, biology, and the environment are just some of the factors that contribute to obesity. Obesity requires lifelong management, using a variety of treatment approaches, which may include bariatric surgery.
