Is Obesity Really a Disease?

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association (AMA) has just yesterday adopted a new policy that declares obesity a disease. The group says that now obesity is a disease it will require a range of medical interventions to advance treatment and prevention. Over 35 percent of U.S. adults and 17 percent of children and teens are now categorized as having the "disease" of obesity. 

A new documentary film and book, Hungry for Change reveals that obesity is curable and preventable without medical intervention and enlists the world's leading nutritional experts and physicians to support this claim.

"The AMA's move to label obesity a disease is a step forward in awareness but we're still way off the mark when it comes to treatment," states Hungry for Change filmmaker and co-author James Colquhoun.

"This new AMA policy could lead people to seek traditional means of addressing the symptoms of obesity via lap band surgery, prescription medications and radical fad diets. However, we need to address all the underlying causes of obesity including nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, stress and emotional trauma; education not medication is critical in providing a lasting solution, " added Colquhoun.

Andrew Pollack of The New York Times reported that "medicalizing" obesity would define one-third of Americans as being ill and could lead to more reliance on costly drugs and surgery rather than lifestyle changes.

According to research in Hungry For Change, obesity can be treated easily but the shocking truth remains that current mainstream approaches are proving inefficient. In the US, $60 billion dollars is spent annually on diet and weight loss related products yet UCLA research shows that up to two-thirds of people who go on a diet fail and regain more weight than when they started.

Leading expert contributors in the film including Dr. Christiane Northurp MD, Dr. Alejandro Junger MD, Dr. Joseph Mercola and others postulate that the answer is simpler than we think. These experts reveal practical solutions with proven results including: stress reduction techniques, adding in whole foods, moving our bodies daily and green vegetable juices to detoxify the body. 

They further add that obesity is very often the result of childhood trauma drawing on research from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study by Vincent J. Felitti, MD at Kaiser Permanente. Their suggestions are that we look into mind body solutions including visualization and affirmations to shift peoples approach to their body and the foods they gravitate towards.

Hungry for Change experts from the field of medicine and nutrition plus the transformational, real life success stories from those who know what's it like to be sick and overweight offer substantive and definitive proof to empower consumers to take control of their health and win the war on obesity once and for all—we can escape the diet trap; naturally, effectively and affordably.

FOR INTERVIEWS WITH THE AUTHORS, PLEASE CONTACT:

Jill Mangino, Circle 3 Media,                 
Tel: 908.637.6022                 
Email              

Dawna Shuman, Lighthouse PR
Tel: 818.789.1077
Email

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS & AUTHORS:

Motivated by an illness in their own family, nutritional consultants, documentary filmmakers and authors James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch teamed up with the world's leading nutrition and natural medicine experts to create two best-selling documentaries that have revolutionized the food and health industry: Food Matters and Hungry for Change.  The popularity of their revolutionary films inspired a practical, prescriptive companion book Hungry for Change: Ditch Diets, Conquer the Cravings, and Eat Your Way to Lifelong Health  (HarperOne). This ground-breaking book is rocking the health industry by empowering readers to transform their eating habits and reclaim their health.

For more information please visit: www.hungryforchange.tv.

Contact:
Dawna Shuman
818.789.1077
Email

SOURCE James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch