There is a rising trend to label obesity as a disease and even to liken tempting food to a pathogen. That's very unhelpful, says Lara Williams

The language of food can be contentious Sally Anscombe/Getty

Should obesity be recontextualised as a “chronic relapsing progressive disease process”, with food as the “pathological agent”? Yes, says the World Obesity Federation in a new position statement, casting it in an epidemiological light. No, say those of us who see this as deeply problematic language.

Such an approach only worsens the already rigid medicalisation of obese bodies, which risks weight and size eclipsing other factors when assessing health. Legitimate medical issues can get missed in lieu of a blinkered fixation on body shape.

It is also dehumanising and fuels a …