Let’s play a game: Can you name the health condition?
By Jeremiah Gardner
NOTE: This was originally published for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s monthly Recovery Advocacy Update. If you’d like to receive our advocacy emails, subscribe today.
It’s a brain disease, a leading cause of preventable death —exacerbated by the pandemic, and one of America’s most concerning public health crises.
The number one cause or predictor of this disease is genetics, or family history.
It’s highly stigmatized, with many people wrongfully attributing it to a lack of willpower and character.
Even physicians misunderstand it, having received minimal education and training.
Treatment, including medications, is effective but expensive. Insurance coverage is woefully inadequate.
And improvements are difficult to sustain long-term.
What health condition am I describing?
I’m sure this seems like a slam-dunk — I mean, I work for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, which has specialized in the field of addiction treatment for generations. But on New Year’s Day, in a nationally televised report by 60 Minutes, we heard these same familiar messages used to describe another common health condition: obesity.
I was struck by the parallels.
WATCH: Recognizing and treating obesity as a disease — 60 Minutes — CBS News
Among the questions rolling around as I watched and then reflected:
· How similar are obesity and addiction and their recovery processes — as internally experienced?
· Since obesity is newer to the disease designation (2013 v. 1956) and more common (roughly half the population v. 10%-20%), could addiction soon have more competition for health care priority and insurance coverage? (To be clear: funding to treat harmful health conditions should not be a zero-sum game.)
· What sort of treatment, beyond medications, might emerge to help people overcome obesity, and could it look anything like substance use disorder treatment?
· What are the pros and cons of a disease framework (can it lead to counter-productive “fat-shaming,” for example, and have we seen anything similar with addiction and substance use)?
· How do we guard against profit-minded companies preying on our shared vulnerabilities to food, drink and anything that makes us feel better?
· And with Dry January — a 10-year-old tradition of kicking off the year alcohol-free — becoming almost as commonplace as new-year diet resolutions, are there any risks in drawing too many parallels and potentially diminishing the high stakes of addiction and the unique, tremendous needs of individuals and families experiencing it?
My intent is not to answer these questions definitively — I’m not sure I could, even to my own satisfaction — but simply to invite you watch the 60 Minutes piece yourself. What parallels do you see? What questions come to mind? Is there value in considering these public health issues — obesity and addiction — as two sides of the same human vulnerability coin?
I would love to hear your views, and look forward to exploring addiction, recovery and advocacy together again in 2023 — Happy New Year!
Jeremiah Gardner is director of communications and public affairs for the nonprofit Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
