LIESBETH VAN ROSSUM
Internist-endocrinologist van Rossum of Erasmus University Medical Centre and the European Society of Endocrinology explains the complexity of causes behind the obesity epidemic
© Liesbeth van Rossum
Why do you think fat is misunderstood?
Many people do not know it’s an organ communicating with your brain and other systems. This organ of fat can be sick, just like a liver or a heart can be sick. If you understand the function of fat, then you can understand why it’s bad to have too much or too little. Obesity is about sick fat mass. One of the painful things about this is that the lack of knowledge also leads to stigma. I see my patients suffer a lot from discrimination based on weight.