1. World problems
  2. False medicalization

False medicalization

  • Politically motivated diagnostic labelling
  • Unwarranted disease specification

Nature

Medical problems are taken seriously by the public. Thus if one wishes for political or other reasons to draw attention to, receive funding for work on, or eradicate a problem, it may be useful to give the problem medical status or a medical label. Those whose lives are caught up with the problem, including students of it, may be unwittingly biased toward giving it a high status label.

Claim

The controversial associations between obesity, diabetes and heart disease may be due in part to a desire of some medical researchers to eradicate obesity. Obesity is frowned upon culturally in the Western world. By giving it the status of a medical disorder and interpreting research results to link it to disease, the medical profession justifies a war on obesity and its treatment with drugs.

The view of NAAFA, the North American Association for Fatness Acceptance, is that the risk of obesity and the benefits of weight loss are grossly overstated by a tyrannous medical profession bent on making their life a misery.

Aggravates

Underweight
Yet to rate

Aggravated by

Related

Obesity
Excellent
Stereotypes
Yet to rate

Strategy

Value

Fallacy
Yet to rate
Disease
Yet to rate
Demotivation
Yet to rate

SDG

Sustainable Development Goal #3: Good Health and Well-beingSustainable Development Goal #16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

Metadata

Database
World problems
Type
(G) Very specific problems
Subject
  • Medicine » Medicine
  • Medicine » Pathology
  • Medicine » Diagnosis
  • Research, standards » Signs and labels
  • Government » Political
  • Content quality
    Presentable
     Presentable
    Language
    English
    Last update
    Nov 8, 2022