Obesity should be treated just like any chronic disease and supported by public health systems in Canada, according to a new report.
The Canadian Obesity Network says the government is failing those living with obesity.
Many groups, including the World Health Organization, consider obesity to be a chronic disease like diabetes and cancer.
The new report argues that health systems have yet to reflect that kind of thinking.
The Report Card On Access To Obesity Treatment For Adults In Canada 2017 makes seven recommendations, including providing for obesity like medically-supervised weight management, meal replacements, anti-obesity medications and bariatric surgery.
The experts found that not many physicians in Canada are formally trained in obesity management.
Obesity can lead to other health problems like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic back pain, issues that experts point out end up costing the health care system anyway.