_{Obesity is a Chronic Life-Long Disease.  You Did Not Ask For It.}

_{Few people choose to be overweight. Chances are, you may be biologically predisposed to obesity, which is out of your control.  Perhaps your metabolism is not working properly after years of low-calorie dieting.  It is not your fault.  There are many factors that contribute to overweight and obesity that are complex.  If you are struggling and have tried everything to lose weight, obesity is not your fault.  Has anyone ever told you that?} 

_{You may think that everyone who is not overweight simply has more willpower than you do. This may not be true. You might very well have a different chemical reaction to food, and therefore a different chemical relationship with food.  You may also find that you crave foods that you are allergic to.  In other words, your body may be tricking you into eating foods that are stored as fat, even if you are not eating too many calories.  Or, there may be other factors that you need help identifying.}

_{It is no surprise that most diet and weight loss ads say that "weight loss results are not typical".  Did you ever wonder why they say this?  It is because most people that are struggling with life-long or long-term weight issues are not typical.  There are millions of a-typical dieters, perhaps like you, who are struggling with issues far more complex than just how many calories are eaten and burned off with exercise.} 

_{Although calories, and exercise are important, they are not always the whole story.} 

_{Acceptance, Wisdom, Growth}

_{There are many reasons for weight gain and obesity. Genetics, lifestyle, food allergies and intolerance, emotional factors, illness, medications, and food addictions - are just a few of the possible causes.}

_{Healing and recovery from the affects of excess weight or obesity takes place on multiple levels: emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual.  bellaSavio's Acceptance, Wisdom and Growth Principles help individuals approach weight loss and lifelong wellness through weight management from a multilevel, whole-person perspective. Understanding and addressing experiences, attitudes, feelings, beliefs and physical realities that may be hindering health and weight loss success is at the foundation of the bellaSavio Approach^TM.}

The Challenges of Obesity

• According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, obesity is America's #1 health problem. It has become an epidemic as obesity rates have continued to increase.
  
• Few doctors agree to medically treat patients for obesity.
  
• Obesity has no identity in the vast majority of medical schools. There is currently no sub-specialty for the treatment of obesity in most medical schools. 
  
• Many physicians don't acknowledge that an obese person has a disease. And yet, once fat cells have become abnormal - they are diseased.
  
• According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, obesity is a chronic disease. However, in 2008 the FDA still does not classify obesity as a disease. And it was only in 2008 that the Obesity Society finally agreed and made the statement that Obesity is a disease.
  
• Medically managed treatment for obesity is not routinely covered by medicare or by most insurance companies - even though according to the American Obesity Association, more than 64% of adult Americans are categorized as being obese.
  
• More people are affected by obesity than by AIDS, Diabetes and Smoking and yet in the United States we spend less on obesity research than on any of the other top five illnesses.  In 2007, for every AIDS patient the US spent $5,642.00, for every smoker- $12.30, for every cardiovascular patient-$37.50, for every diabetes patient-$61.10 and for every obese patient only $7.80. 
  

Lawmakers cannot mandate how physicians practice medicine or force them to treat obesity. Lawmakers can, however, provide financial incentives to college and university research centers to help establish new treatments, and find appropriate treatments and cures for obesity. Lawmakers can designate more funds for education, awareness, and the prevention of obesity. Lawmakers can incent schools to offer healthy choices for school lunch programs through funding initiatives.