Obesity Disease: What Will this Mean for America?

As obesity continues to grow as an epidemic in America, some health officials are beginning to believe it should be classified as a disease.

According to the American Medical Association, they have adopted a new policy that officially now labels obesity as a disease "requiring a range of medical interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention," according to an AMA statement.

The physician's group voted to approve the obesity policy this Tuesday during a meeting in Chicago, according to various reports.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. obesity rate increased almost 50 percent between 1997 and 2012. This means that as of today, nearly 30 percent of adult Americans are considered obese, and childhood obesity as doubled in the last 30 years.

Obesity can be defined as having a body mass, or BMI, higher than 30. This can put individuals at serious risks for Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, liver disease, sleep apnea and osteoarthritis.

"Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue," AMA board member Dr. Patrice Harris said in a statement.

Obesity has long been recognized as a disease by other groups, but this move by the AMA sends a strong signal to the medical community, said CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

However, some experts believe that classifying obesity as a disease could cause more individuals to have to take medications or undergo surgical procedures that may be unnecessary.

What do you think?