The “Razones de Peso” initiative in Spain, developed by Lilly, reveals that 86% of primary care physicians consider obesity to be a disease as important as other chronic pathologies. Despite this professional consensus, the social and clinical survey—which gathered data from 200 primary care doctors and 1,700 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher—highlights widespread communication gaps and societal stigma that hinder effective medical intervention.
Physician Perception and Clinical Communication Gaps
While an overwhelming majority of doctors recognize obesity as a serious pathology, day-to-day clinical practice often fails to treat it as the primary health issue. The survey demonstrates that 68% of physicians discuss weight with their patients only secondarily to manage an existing complication, rather than addressing obesity itself. Also, 52% of primary care doctors report that patients lack awareness regarding the severity of obesity and do not identify it as a problem requiring medical intervention. Only 40% of practitioners think that it is very difficult for the patient to control the disease solely with lifestyles, yet many clinical encounters still default to superficial lifestyle advice.
Patient Realities and the Weight of Social Stigma
Patient awareness and self-perception remain complex barriers in obesity treatment. Although 76% of surveyed patients recognize that excess weight affects their health, only 56% recognize that they have obesity. Among those surveyed, 60% openly recognize that obesity is a disease, and 38% see obesity as a chronic disease difficult to control solely with changes in lifestyle habits. Meanwhile, 33% identify biological factors as the primary cause, while 26% know that the body itself can generate metabolic defense mechanisms to slow weight loss. Federico Luis, president of the National Association of People Living with Obesity (ANPO), notes that patients frequently face stigma and discrimination. Patients often enter clinical settings fearing they will be judged or that everything will be reduced to the phrase ‘eat less and move more’, an environment of stigma that prevents individuals from seeking help for weight loss.
Multifactorial Biology and Associated Health Complications
Medical experts emphasize that obesity is a multifactorial disease driven by genetic, endocrine, environmental, behavioral, and sociocultural elements, alongside stress and sleep disruptions. These variables contribute to an energy balance imbalance that causes a progressive increase in adipose tissue that exceeds its storage capacity, generating dysfunction and inflammation of different organs and systems at all levels. Dr. José Abellán, a cardiologist and content creator who participated in the survey’s presentation, points out that obesity is associated with more than 200 diseases. Survey participants identify high cholesterol and high blood pressure (both at 59%), type 2 diabetes (52%), cardiovascular problems (52%), and joint/mobility problems (51%) as the conditions most closely linked to obesity, with myocardial infarction (27%), stroke (12%), and certain types of cancer (11%) representing the most severe derived pathologies.
Worth a look