Question:
Can morbid obesity be considered a disease when it comes to getting insurance approva

My insurance has an exclusion that states that they do not treat obesity unless it is related to a disease. WHat are they looking for? Would high colesterol count?    — Erin H. (posted on August 10, 2001)

August 11, 2001
Are they asking whether you are obese as a result of another medical condition or is your obesity causing other medical conditions? Either way, I would think you could make it work for you in getting insurance approval for WLS. Take sleep apnea, for instance. Sleep apnea can cause constant fatique (among a host of other symptoms) and chronic fatigue can lead to depression, etc. Both of those can cause a person to become obese, over time, because you are too tired to exersice and overeating can result from depression (it's so immediately gratifying to eat). Lots of potential for weight gain there. Here is the catchy part. Obesity can cause sleep apnea and all of the related health risks that come with it. So, what came first? The sleep apnea or obesity? Sleep apnea is one of the more severe co-morbidities. So curing it is important. You need to find out what other co-morbidities you have. Some of them you won't think are co-morbidities because you have lived with them so long you think they are just a part of the natural aging process or lack of exercise or because you are overweight. I didn't realize when I first started researching WLS that urinary stress incontinance (you know, where you leak everytime you sneeze, cough or laugh to hard) was a co-morbidity. I didn't know sleep apnea was not only a co-morbidity, but is potentially fatal. Here is a list of some of the co-morbidities that I am aware of and I am sure there are a lot more and other peole who post will add to the list. High blood pressure, diabities, sleep apnea, unrinary stress incontinance, joint pain and degenerative joint desease, painful and swollen legs and feet, numbness and/or tingling in extremeties, back pain, hypertension, shortness of breath with little or no exertion, asthma, chronic bonchitis, chronic urinary track infections, chronic fatigue, depression, and I know I have foregotten some and don't know about some others. So, do some more research and find out which co-morbidities apply to you. Have them medically diagnosed if needed to prove your claim and go from there. Hope this helps. Good luck.
   — Susan M.

April 24, 2003
I realize this question is fairly old, but I ran across an article which talks about obesity being a disease and thought I'd post it. This is from the FDA website at this URL http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/weight.html Obesity is now considered a disease--not a moral failing. According to a 1995 report from the Institute of Medicine, "obesity is a heterogeneous disease in which genetic, environmental, psychological, and other factors are involved. It occurs when energy intake exceeds the amount of energy expended over time. Only in a small minority of cases is obesity caused by such illnesses as hypothyroidism or the result of taking medications, such as steroids, that can cause weight gain." Public health concerns about this disease relate to its link to numerous other diseases that can lead to premature illness or death. The report notes that overweight individuals who lose even relatively small amounts of weight are likely to: lower their blood pressure (and thereby the risk of heart attack and stroke) reduce abnormally high levels of blood glucose (associated with diabetes) bring blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (associated with cardiovascular disease) down to more desirable levels reduce sleep apnea, or irregular breathing during sleep decrease the risk of osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints decrease depression increase self-esteem. Of course, losing excess weight is also likely to improve appearance, which is a strong motivation for many people. --M.L. Publication No. (FDA) 99-1287
   — TMF