The Swiss Obesity Alliance wants to classify obesity as a disease in the revision of the national strategy on “non-communicable diseases”. This is one of a series of recommendations from the organisation on the occasion of World Obesity Day. In Switzerland, 12% of men and 10% of women are considered obese. This proportion doubled from 1992 to 2017. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is expected to reach 16% for both men and women by 2030, reports the Swiss Obesity Alliance on Saturday. “Political action is essential,” says Doris Fischer-Taeschler, president of the Alliance. This starts by considering obesity as “a disease in its own right,” she added. The group argues a paradigm shift in how obesity is viewed will ensure that targeted measures are in place to prevent and reduce obesity. The WHO has classified obesity as a chronic disease since 1997 and the American Medical Association official recognised obesity as a disease in 2013. In Switzerland, however...
