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Being overweight has long been a problem in the US with over a third of adults and nearly 20% of children listed in the category.
Now The American Medical Association has officially declared obesity to be a disease.
The AMA report points out obesity rates have "doubled among adults in the last 20 years and tripled among children in a single generation."
A statement from the AMA says they hope "more widespread recognition of obesity as a disease could result in greater investments by government and the private sector to develop and reimburse obesity treatments. Employers may be required to cover obesity treatments for their employees and may be less able to discriminate on the basis of body weight."
The decision will have a huge effect on employers who provide medical insurance in the US.
Now nearly 80 million adults and over 10 million children will be catagorized as having a medical condition requiring treatment.
Translation: Higher health care costs to businesses.
The report says it will be up to a doctor to diagnose and treat obesity.
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