In 2005 the US Congress discussed legislation to prevent civil lawsuits against the food industry in relation to obesity; however, it did not become law.With the American Medical Associations 2013 classification of obesity as a chronic disease, it is thought that health insurance companies will more likely pay for obesity treatment, counseling and surgery, and the cost of research and development of fat treatment pills or gene therapy treatments should be more affordable if insurers help to subsidize their cost. The AMA classification is not legally binding, however, so health insurers still have the right to reject coverage for a treatment or procedure.In 2014, The European Court of Justice ruled that morbid obesity is a disability. The Court said that if an employees obesity prevents them from "full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers", then it shall be considered a disability and that firing someone on such grounds is discriminatory. Size acceptance
The principal goal of the fat acceptance movement is to decrease discrimination against people who are overweight and obese. However, some in the movement are also attempting to challenge the established relationship between obesity and negative health outcomes.A number of organizations exist that promote the acceptance of obesity. They have increased in prominence in the latter half of the 20th century.
In contrast, increasing rates of obesity at a societal level are felt to be due to an easily accessible and palatable diet, increased reliance on cars, and mechanized manufacturing.A 2006 review identified ten other possible contributors to the recent increase of obesity: (1) insufficient sleep, (2) endocrine disruptors (environmental pollutants that interfere with lipid metabolism), (3) decreased variability in ambient temperature, (4) decreased rates of smoking, because smoking suppresses appetite, (5) increased use of medications that can cause weight gain (e.g., atypical antipsychotics), (6) proportional increases in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier, (7) pregnancy at a later age (which may cause susceptibility to obesity in children), (8) epigenetic risk factors passed on generationally, (9) natural selection for higher BMI, and (10) assortative mating leading to increased concentration of obesity risk factors (this would increase the number of obese people by increasing population variance in weight). According to the Endocrine Society, there is "growing evidence suggesting that obesity is a disorder of the energy homeostasis system, rather than simply arising from the passive accumulation of excess weight". Diet
A 2016 review supported excess appetite for palatable, high-calorie food (especially fat, sugar, and certain animal proteins) as the primary factor driving obesity worldwide, likely because of imbalances in neurotransmitters affecting the drive to eat. Dietary energy supply per capita varies markedly between different regions and countries. It has also changed significantly over time.