In collaboration with Stichting Over Weight, Vital10, Obesitas Kliniek Nederland and Goodlife Pharma, Boon conducted a survey among 6,500 people. 89 percent believe that obesity is not the fault of someone who has it, but 83 percent believe that they can get started with it themselves, without necessarily requiring treatment, medication or surgery.
Lack of willpower
The results of the survey were released today on World Obesity Day. One third of the respondents are obese, one third are overweight and one third are of healthy weight.
A quarter of people with a healthy weight believe that obese people lack willpower. Of the 1,700 obese respondents, half say that they find it difficult to lose weight due to the constant temptation of good food.
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“It is a complex disease and many factors can contribute to its development, such as lifestyle, stress, medication with a fattening side effect, and your genes. It is not a do-it-yourself disease,” says Boon.
‘Obesity is a disease’
“Obese people want to tackle their overweight but often simply cannot do it alone,” she continues. “And that’s not surprising. Once someone is obese, so many systems in the body are disrupted that losing weight is very difficult and it is not a matter of ‘just on a diet.’
Boon thinks it is “high time” that obesity is seen as a disease. Also because additional diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease can be prevented in this way. “It is strange that we do treat the complications of obesity but ignore the underlying problem – obesity”, says Boon, who, among other things, draws attention to the problem with a knowledge quiz called #Vetlastig.
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