Presented by Jeffrey I. Mechanick, MD

Dr Mechanick is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of Metabolic Support, The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Similar to the recent Delphi Consensus on the treatment of moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss in adults, as a direct output of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) 2014 Consensus Conference on Obesity, a group of professionals in endocrinology spearheaded the effort to overcome the barriers to treating.

In 2012, AACE first declared obesity as a disease state, an assessment officially adopted by the American Medical Association in 2014. The new term – Adiposity-Based Chronic Disease or ABCD – focuses on the characteristic pathophysiological effects of excess weight, rather than the weight itself, and offers medical professionals standardized protocols for weight loss and treatments for obesity-related conditions.

Redefining obesity to address the negative impact on health outcomes reduced general confusion and also the stigma associated with obesity leading to improvements in screening and access to appropriate treatment.