UCC researcher calls for obesity to be renamed to improve treatment 

'Focus should be on the underlying pathophysiology of obesity and not on body size'

Professor Francis Finucane described new Irish Medical Council guidance warning doctors against using Ozempic for obesity as morally problematic. Picture: Getty Images 

The term ' obesity' has become "synonymous" with body size, with calls being made for the disease to be renamed in order to help the public better understand it.

A study from researchers at University College Cork (UCC) and University of Galway, published in Obesity Reviews, highlights the ongoing confusion about the term ‘obesity’, which currently can refer to the disease of obesity or to a BMI range, or a combination of the two.

Researchers believe that by renaming 'obesity', the public and policymakers will better understand the disease.

Dr Margaret Steele, a postdoctoral researcher at UCC’s School of Public Health, and Professor Francis Finucane, consultant endocrinologist and professor of medicine in University of Galway, led the study looking at the various understandings of the term ‘obesity’.

They suggested it was important to reconsider whether the term ‘obesity’ reflects the full extent of the complex disease that stems from various environmental, genetic, physiological, behavioural and developmental factors and not on body weight or on BMI.

“Our focus should be on the underlying pathophysiology and not on body size. For people with the disease of obesity, treatment is not optional or cosmetic,” Dr Steele said.

“A different diagnostic term such as ‘adiposity-based chronic disease’ could more clearly convey the nature of this disease, and avoid the confusion and stigma that may occur if we keep using the term ‘obesity’, which has become synonymous with body size,” Dr Steele added.

Appetite-controlling medicines

The study addresses the wider question of new appetite-controlling medicines, which have become increasingly popular.

Patients with obesity may be sent to the back of the queue on the mistaken assumption they do not need the medication as much as patients with diabetes.

The researchers feel clearer terminology could play a vital role in allowing suitable patients to access this life-altering medication.

The weight-loss medications has been the subject of a wider debate across the country, with many health professionals holding differing opinions as to how they should be distributed.

Prof Finucane also described new Irish Medical Council guidance warning doctors against using Ozempic for obesity as morally problematic.

“Semaglutide is approved as a treatment for obesity, just as it is for diabetes.

There is a deeply stigmatising idea out there that people with obesity are looking for an easy way out, that these medicines provide a low-effort alternative to healthy diet and lifestyle. 

"But for people living with the disease of obesity, these drugs don’t make behavioural change unnecessary, nor do they make it easy — they just make it possible,” Dr Steele added.

The researchers are quick to point out that these treatments should only be used for those in need of drastic weight-loss, which is different to celebrities using drugs like semaglutide to become “fashionably” thin.

“This is why we need to clarify what we mean by obesity. Many of the people we see on TikTok or Instagram reporting on their semaglutide journeys do not have the disease of obesity. 

"When we talk about treating and preventing obesity, our focus should be on healthy food environments, and appropriate treatment for people living with chronic metabolic diseases.

“We hope this new research will help drive home the point that this is about helping people live well, not making everyone skinny,” Dr Steele added.