More than 40 percent of U.S. women live with obesity, yet about 3 percent of individuals eligible for treatment actually receive evidence-based medical care. The reasons for this gap are numerous: limited insurance coverage, lack of diagnosis, sociodemographic barriers, and deep-seated stigma. As a result, a condition that is both preventable and treatable continues to fuel a growing public health crisis for women.
Once viewed as only a lifestyle issue, we now understand that obesity is a chronic disease with many causes, often due to a complex interplay of metabolic, hormonal, and psychosocial systems, influenced by genetics and the environment. This recognition underscores the fact that obesity is a serious medical condition that requires evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies. Advances in research and therapeutics now provide tools to address these underlying biological mechanisms, offering hope for more effective, individualized care that can improve long-term health outcomes.
Women experience obesity differently than men, from hormonal shifts and reproductive health considerations to disparities in access to diagnosis, treatment, and support. Life stages such as pregnancy, menopause, and older adulthood, as well as certain medications, can all influence weight and health in ways unique to women. The health consequences are real: increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers and reduced quality of life. Too often, stigma and unconscious bias from both society and the health care community compound these challenges, leaving women unheard and undertreated.
While the overall rates of obesity in the U.S. are similar for men and women, women have an increased prevalence of severe obesity. This matters because obesity is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease (the leading cause of death among women) making effective prevention and treatment of obesity essential to saving lives. Obesity also contributes to the development and progression of other chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, osteoarthritis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, compounding long-term health risks. Yet too often, women face barriers to care that delay diagnosis, limit treatment options, and allow progression of this chronic disease.
Across the country, leaders in women’s health are pushing for change. Clinicians are advancing sex- and gender-specific research and education so that care reflects women’s biological realities and lived experiences. Advocates are calling for policy reforms that remove barriers to care, including coverage for medications and behavioral therapy that address the root causes of obesity. Health economists have used simulation models to show that treating obesity can result in substantial future cost-savings, as well as other societal benefits. Public health leaders are working to dismantle stigma and unconscious bias by training clinicians to engage in empathic, nonjudgmental conversations and ensuring women feel supported rather than shamed when seeking care.
Addressing obesity in women’s health isn’t just a matter of weight loss. It’s about ensuring that all patients can get access to the care that they need. This means ensuring coverage for a range of evidence-based treatments, from lifestyle and behavioral interventions to medications, and surgery. It means training clinicians to have open, respectful conversations about weight. And it means funding research that closes the gender gap in our understanding of obesity. We cannot afford to overlook the needs of half the population in this public health crisis. Supporting the work already underway to transform obesity care for women is not just good medicine; it’s a public health imperative.
Eliza Chin, Kathryn Schubert, Millicent Gorham, Elizabeth Battaglino, and Ramsey Alwin are nonprofit executives.
