Accepting obesity as something to be catered for, rather than a tide to be turned, would go against everything the health and industry believes in, according to Health Club Management editor Kate Cracknell in her August leader column.

The definition of obesity has become the focal point in health debates in recent times, with cases in both the US and Europe seeking to define its position and classification.

Schools of thought are currently discussing how to position obesity in the discourse around health, with experts proposing the idea of obesity as either a disease, disability or lifestyle condition.

An American Medical Association vote last year classified obesity as a disease in its own right in the US, while a current on-going case in the Europe Court of Human Justice could potentially see obesity defined as a disability.

So why does classification matter and what impact does the wording have on the health and fitness sector?

“In fact it matters a great deal, because the label we use has significant implications for the way people view obesity, and crucially for who’s liable,” says Cracknell.

“While ‘disability’ marks it as something to be accepted and lived with, and ‘disease’ gives people an excuse to defer responsibility for their health onto the medical profession, ‘lifestyle condition’ makes the problem seem reversible, with lifestyle change – our sector’s area of expertise – clearly signposted as the logical solution.”

One possible solution to the obesity problem, which Cracknell seems to be in agreement with, could see a focus away from obesity itself in an attempt to push efforts towards solving physical inactivity – instead concentrating on solutions instead of labels.

“Rather than endlessly defining what the already very evident problem is, let’s invest our energy into finding solutions.”

To read Cracknell's full leader column from the August 2014 edition of Health Club Management magazine, click here.