Irene Bretón, endocrinologist and obesologist: "No one chooses to be obese; there's a genetic makeup and the environment we live in that determines this disease."

Irene Bretón, head of the Obesity Department of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN) , argued in an interview with El Español that obesity should be officially recognized as a disease to guarantee fair access to healthcare . She asserts that it does not depend solely on willpower, but on biological factors combined with an unfavorable environment. " No one chooses to be obese; there is a genetic makeup and the environment in which we live that determines this disease ," she emphasizes. Her words come after the controversy surrounding the latest campaign by Novo Nordisk , the manufacturer of the drug Ozempic.

The pharmaceutical company's advertising campaign, broadcast on television, social media, and in urban spaces, included phrases such as "Obesity can kill" and "it continues to spread while we discuss how to talk about it." The message was criticized by groups and citizens as fat-phobic . Even the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (SEEDO) , which had supported the project, later expressed its disagreement with the approach. The Ministry of Health announced it would investigate whether the ad violated regulations by covertly promoting medications. Bretón admits that the SEEN was also surprised by the harshness of the message and warns that it can reinforce stigmas.

With over thirty years of experience, the specialist points out that obesity increases mortality and raises the risk of more than 200 diseases , such as heart disease , diabetes , and respiratory problems. She criticizes the fact that blame is still placed solely on the patient, ignoring physiological causes such as alterations in the nervous system or appetite regulation. " Having an illness is not stigmatizing; what is stigmatizing is thinking that the person is guilty ," she states. She also warns against the unsupervised use of GLP-1 agonists for weight loss, reminding everyone that their irregular acquisition can carry serious risks.

Bretón questions the exclusive use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a diagnostic criterion and proposes methods to detect visceral fat , the most dangerous type. He considers it unrealistic to eradicate obesity under current conditions and advocates measures to promote physical activity , healthy eating , adequate rest , and stress reduction. " Even if we could control all these factors, there would still be people with obesity due to their genetic predisposition. We are not all the same ," he concludes, calling for a comprehensive approach based on scientific evidence and free of stigma.